Chapter 111 - 39: 3 Seconds, 10 Laps, Is There a Chance?

Chapter 111: Chapter 39: 3 Seconds, 10 Laps, Is There a Chance?

For three or four consecutive corners, it had been exactly like this. Wu Shi could only stick firmly behind him, looking for an opportunity. With a weaker car, following closely was already difficult, let alone overtaking. Even Verstappen, when stuck back in the pack, would struggle endlessly and fail to overtake a few Prema Team drivers.

It was only because Wu Shi was the one behind the wheel that he even had a chance to maintain such a tight following distance.

On lap twelve, he was practically riding right on O’connor’s tail. This time, just as they were about to enter Turn 8, he swiftly switched to the inside line, posturing for an overtake. O’connor reacted quickly, moving to the center of the track to defend.

But at that moment, Wu Shi suddenly jerked his car to the outside, sweeping across the entire track to take the outer line. This caused O’connor to hesitate for a split second. Primarily because he was guarding the inside and holding the defensive advantage, he didn’t know what Wu Shi was trying to do, so he didn’t make a move.

Overtaking on the outside usually relies entirely on car superiority, praying for an opponent’s mistake, or using a combination of corners to turn the outside line into the inside line. However, the layout of the Turns 8, 9, 10, and 11 combination wasn’t ideal; it was fundamentally very difficult to execute a switchback overtake here. Coming in on the outside of Turn 8 meant that Turn 9 was still a left-hander—the outside remained the outside. Only upon reaching the right-handed Turn 10 would the outside line become the inside. Usually, during this sequence, a driver on the outside would simply be left behind.

The commentator saw this very clearly and quickly voiced his deduction, "It’s impossible for Wu to change lines and overtake here! Turn 8 and Turn 10 are too far apart, and Turn 8 has a massive radius. For a driver on the outside, it will severely drag down his corner exit speed!"

Anyone who understood the situation generally agreed with the commentator. Even the Team Principal and Alan in the garage knew it was highly unlikely for positions to change in this corner.

"He’s too eager. He should have pressured him for two more laps," Alan said.

"He is young, after all," the Team Principal said, feeling quite content.

However, unbeknownst to everyone, this switchback attempt was the culmination of three full laps of preparation by Wu Shi. Over these three laps, he had experimented at almost every spot, making the exact same moves. He had blatantly told O’connor that he only wanted to dive down the inside to overtake. Therefore, when he switched to the outside this time, a sluggish O’connor stuck to defending the inside.

Taking the inside line meant hitting the apex, which required dropping speed drastically! On the outside, Wu Shi naturally relied on a fast-in, slow-out strategy to pull half a car length ahead of O’connor. But this was only temporary. Once past the apex, the fast-exiting O’connor on the inside would seize the speed advantage and quickly pass Wu Shi.

So, Wu Shi made his move. He controlled his car, completely refusing to yield the outside racing line. This meant O’connor was forced to accelerate while hugging the left track limit. This squeeze disrupted O’connor’s upshifting and acceleration. To avoid a collision, he had to delay returning to the racing line.

In that brief window, Wu Shi’s vastly superior shifting and acceleration abilities were fully displayed. Despite exiting the corner later and accelerating later, he forcibly erased the gap entirely through raw car control. He and O’connor completed the corner exit almost simultaneously; he was lagging behind by a mere front wing!

But that was enough!

As Turn 9 was just a kink, at their current speeds, there was absolutely no need to hug the apex. Flashing past Turn 9 and arriving at Turn 10, Wu Shi had already switched to the inside line.

O’connor naturally knew what was happening, but with the two cars running wheel-to-wheel, he couldn’t change his line. He could only try to squeeze his opponent!

From the corner of his eye, Wu Shi felt the rush of turbulent air and knew this lion of France wanted to pin him dead on the inside line. Showing no weakness, he cranked his steering wheel sharply, seemingly ready to risk a collision.

Who knew if O’connor’s mentality was sound, but he was definitely as stubborn as a mule. He didn’t react at all to the encroaching car, as if bluntly telling Wu Shi that if he wanted to crash and retire, he should bring it on!

Of course, Wu Shi wasn’t some reckless brute who only knew how to dive-bomb. Every move he made was a probe. If the opponent yielded, great; if not, he still gained an advantage.

And true enough, O’connor didn’t continue squeezing him! Through that momentary psychological warfare, he had already secured a wider corner exit space.

VROOM! CLACK!

The race car rode over the apex, its right wheels completely over the line, ruthlessly wringing out every inch of track space. Relying on the inside line, Wu Shi finally wiped out the last bit of the gap. The two cars were completely side-by-side, neck and neck!

Next, after flashing past the kink at Turn 11, came a long straight. The camera pointed directly at the two cars, making them look like two flying arrows charging forward! In a flash, the long straight was nearing its end, and Turn 12 at the end of the straight was yet another right-hander.

Between the two side-by-side drivers, Wu Shi was still on the inside! Now, O’connor either had to brake even later or give up the position.

The guy naturally wouldn’t let Wu Shi just pass like that, so arriving at the corner, he practically didn’t brake at all. But he still didn’t manage to seize the opportunity. Why? Because Wu Shi didn’t fucking brake either! They both missed their braking points simultaneously and flew off the track together!

This intense battle kept the camera firmly locked on the two of them.

However, right before flying off the track, Wu Shi had already started applying light brakes. Once they completely overshot the track, the grip on the grass was terrifyingly low, forcing both of them to slowly crawl back on. Because Wu Shi was on the right side, he returned to the track earlier. And thanks to his earlier light braking, the stopping power he actually needed was less than O’connor’s.

Thus, he regained traction just a fraction sooner than O’connor and began to accelerate. This back-and-forth difference in speed and time allowed Wu Shi to cleanly complete the overtake. By the time O’connor got back onto the track, he had already lost the position.

If he had held out until the next left-hander, he would have taken the inside line and had a chance to keep fighting. But there were no "ifs." Wu Shi used his maneuvers starting all the way back at Turn 8 to execute a flawless decisive move!

Such a spectacular sequence was fully captured by the cameras and witnessed by the audience in the grandstands. Even though there weren’t many people watching the race, applause still rang out.

"Beyond everyone’s expectations, Wu has completed the overtake! I have absolutely no idea how he managed all of that! Even though he exceeded track limits at the end, he was maintaining the lead before he went off!"

The commentator deduced that this wouldn’t incur a penalty. Seeing this, the Team Principal immediately called over the consultant responsible for communicating with the FIA, sending him to the race control office to check the situation.

On the track, Wu Shi, who had now jumped to second place, wasn’t overjoyed, because he was trailing Verstappen by nearly three seconds.

Over the team radio, Wu Shi asked, "His lap times."

Alan didn’t reply immediately. He glanced at the Team Principal. Currently, the two Van Amersfoort cars occupied the front row; bringing it home 1-2 was much more in line with the team’s interests.

"I remember at Silverstone, you guys promised to help him get twenty-one championships, right?" The Team Principal didn’t issue an order; instead, he posed a rhetorical question.

Hearing this, Alan smiled and said, "Understood." Immediately after, he spoke into the radio, "1 minute 33.4 seconds to 1 minute 33.8 seconds."

Wu Shi replied, "Copy."

Three seconds. Ten laps. Was there a chance?

During his continuous climb up the grid, his tires had actually suffered severe degradation by this point. If he aggressively increased his pace, it would inevitably result in him being unable to launch an attack even if he caught up. Facing this situation, even a god wouldn’t be able to help!

Over the radio, Wu Shi said, "I can maintain a flat 1 minute 33 seconds per lap. Hopefully, I can catch him."

Gaining 0.4 seconds per lap, he could close the gap by lap seven or eight. For the remaining two laps, it would all come down to raw skill. But his tire condition was undeniably far worse than Verstappen’s, who had been cruising comfortably in first place! His ability to maintain a faster lap time on trashed tires was entirely due to his meticulous perception of the tire’s condition and his extremely high driving precision.

The team radio between a driver and their pit crew was broadcast for all teams to hear. Many people shook their heads upon hearing this. With such a massive gap, still wanting to overtake was nothing short of a fantasy!

"Wu surprisingly hasn’t given up the idea of fighting for the victory yet! But I honestly don’t favor his odds. It’s not that I doubt his abilities, but the disparities across the board right now are just too huge—so huge that pure skill can no longer compensate!"

The commentator also offered his own perspective on this radio exchange.