Chapter 122: No Rumors in the Paddock

Chapter 122 -48: No Rumors in the Paddock

Inadequate rest ultimately led to a decline in reaction speed. This was a biological fact, impossible to change.

Furthermore, the starting lights went out almost the instant they fully illuminated. It was too fast, catching Wu Shi off guard at first.

His launch was slow. It took him a full 0.191 seconds to react. Visually, this meant the nose of car number 32 appeared to move sluggishly.

“Wu’s reaction was visibly a beat too slow! He’s cutting straight across to the right side of the track to defend his position!”

“Max is right on Wu’s tail! He’s going to try and overtake Wu on the outside of Turn One!”

“O’connor chose completely the wrong line! He’s been delayed!”

Right from the start, the three cars that had clocked qualifying times of just over 1 minute and 10 seconds were locked in a fierce dogfight.

Although Wu Shi’s reaction time was about 0.03 seconds slower than the others, his supreme mastery over his machine and perfectly timed gear shifts allowed him to erase that tiny gap on the straight.

The three cars squeezed into Turn One nose-to-tail. Verstappen’s car had already pulled alongside on the outside, attempting to overtake, but he lacked the speed to get his nose ahead.

Approaching Turn Two, Wu Shi hugged the right-hand edge, firmly defending the inside line. He noticed Verstappen trying to overtake him from the left again.

However, before Verstappen could launch an attack, his decelerating entry speed allowed O’connor to close in from behind. O’connor was relentlessly aggressive, braking incredibly late; a single misstep would result in a collision.

Taking three different lines, the trio practically blockaded the entire track.

Fortunately, all three possessed excellent driving skills, otherwise the risk of a pile-up here would have been immense.

WHOOSH!

Navigating through the low-speed Turn Two, their exit lines converged, forcing them to finally spread out instead of clumping together.

“The top three positions remain unchanged! Wu still holds the lead, but Max is hunting for an opportunity. He is undoubtedly desperate for this overtake!

“However, overtaking is prohibited in certain sections of the track during the first lap, such as the starting grid area. This rule is in place to prevent severe accidents.”

Just as the commentators finished explaining the track’s special regulations, the broadcast camera cut to the pack behind Turn Two. Plumes of smoke and dust billowed into the air, and soon, two stationary cars became visible at the corner.

“Oh! Unfortunately, it seems that rule wasn’t enough. That’s car number nine on the screen, and its rear wing has fallen off! Mickey Gilbert is number nine!

“The car ahead is Goddard! We can see his front wing is smashed, and the entire rear section has broken off!”

Thankfully, both cars were near the back of the pack, so it didn’t trigger a massive pile-up. Only three or four trailing cars had to slow down and weave around them.

Barely twenty seconds into the race, the yellow flags were already waving. Such was the high accident rate of street circuits.

“I’m worried a Safety Car might be deployed. Yes! The Safety Car is out! Out on the very first lap!” The commentator was seemingly clairvoyant today, jinxing it the moment he opened his mouth.

Rounding a corner, Wu Shi spotted two marshals standing by the barriers. They stretched their arms out, holding the yellow flags and SC boards as far over the track as possible to alert the drivers.

Upon seeing the boards, he immediately slowed down.

By the time he looped back to the starting line, a Renault Safety Car was already waiting. He had no choice but to fall in line and cruise.

“Wu, heads up. The Safety Car will lead for at least two laps. Please be prepared,” Alan TR relayed, estimating the time based on the track cleanup progress.

“Copy,” Wu Shi replied.

Because the temperature was relatively low today, Wu Shi had to aggressively weave left and right to generate heat in his tires.

Going into lap four, the message for the Safety Car to return to the pits was broadcast. The moment it veered into the pit lane, Wu Shi abruptly slammed on his brakes, bunching the entire pack together.

Leaving only the final corner, he suddenly slammed the throttle, hitting the apex and tearing onto the straight, accelerating at breakneck speed!

Behind him, Verstappen and O’connor kept pace perfectly, refusing to give him an inch to pull away and relentlessly applying the pressure.

Wu Shi’s mental state was far from ideal. Even though it wasn’t overly hot, he felt sweat pouring down his body and his scalp itching all over.

He knew he was too agitated, but driving a race car was a great way to dispel such emotions. Putting all other thoughts aside, he focused his entire being on the track ahead.

On lap eight, a reminder from his engineer came through his earpiece.

“Focus on maintaining your lap times,” Alan TR instructed.

“Copy,” Wu Shi replied.

Holding onto the lead, he was actually no longer the focus of the commentators. The three-way dogfight behind him between O’connor, Verstappen, and Lucas Oil was far more thrilling, drawing every camera lens on the circuit.

Meanwhile in Spain, Sid had arrived in Barcelona. With a paddock pass provided by Mercedes-Benz, he quickly made his way into the garage.

Free Practice 3 had just begun, and the garage was bustling with activity. Engineers were poring over data while mechanics stood by, ready to tweak the cars and prepping essential spare parts.

Consequently, hardly anyone paid attention to the stranger. It wasn’t until Toto and Nikki spotted him and moved to greet him that he caught the crew’s eyes.

Rosberg was currently discussing the required test programs for the practice session with his engineer, Tony Ross. Noticing the commotion, they both turned to look.

“Who exactly started that rumor?” Rosberg diverted the conversation from the race to a hushed rumor that had recently been spreading like wildfire within the team.

“I don’t know, but I think Toto wouldn’t do something so unwise. You and Hamilton have performed brilliantly in the first few races. I can’t fathom why they would plan to swap drivers,” Tony said, shaking his head.

Rosberg remained silent. Since the start of the season, the Mercedes-Benz cars had displayed an almost terrifying level of dominance.

In the first four races, with the sole exception of the season opener at the Australia Grand Prix—where Hamilton had to retire due to an engine failure when his V6 dropped a cylinder—the two of them had secured 1-2 finishes in every single race.

Such results were a testament not only to the sheer power of the car but also to the formidable skill of him and Hamilton, friends since childhood.

Therefore, no matter how you looked at it, Toto shouldn’t be entertaining any thoughts of replacing them.

“Both you and Hamilton have shown incredible strength. The rumor that someone will replace one of you for the 2015 season has to be fake. Even if it were true, I can’t figure out the point of Toto doing it,” Tony continued.

“Of course.” Rosberg nodded, watching Toto and Nikki escort the stranger to the back of the garage.

He had partnered with Schumacher for the team ever since Mercedes-Benz returned to F1 in 2010. Simply put, he was one of the team’s veterans.

So, he wasn’t quite as worried about his seat as Tony was. However, seeing Toto and Nikki prioritizing a private meeting with this stranger right in the middle of a practice session made him realize that the internal rumors weren’t entirely baseless.

As everyone knew, in the paddock, there was no such thing as an empty rumor.