Chapter 153 - 75: W05

Chapter 153: Chapter 75: W05

Since its opening in 2008, the Singapore Marina Bay City circuit has remained a crucial stop on the F1 Grand Prix calendar, as well as the first venue in F1 history to host a night race.

The reason Wu Shi claimed to be unfamiliar with this track was twofold: first, he hadn’t raced here in sixteen years; second, the track had undergone four modifications, and the layout he knew best was the post-2023 version.

The Marina Bay City circuit of 2014 had just been adjusted the previous year. It featured 23 corners and a total length of 5.065 kilometers, 800 meters shorter than its 2012 layout.

Last year’s fastest qualifying lap was 1:42.841, and the fastest race lap was 1:48.574—both set by Vettel, who was still driving for Big Red Bull.

Because this was the first year of a major engine regulation overhaul, speeds were highly likely to be slower. As for exactly how much slower, no one knew.

Wu Shi wasn’t a data analyst, so he could only rely on his own experience to judge. He estimated there would likely be a gap of two to three seconds. Therefore, he needed to hit a lap time of around 1:45 to have any chance of making the top three in qualifying.

Friday, September 19. The first practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix was set to kick off at six o’clock in the evening.

Wu Shi had already put on the Mercedes Team race suit. Wearing the silver-white battle armor left him feeling almost weightless. Near the navel of the uniform, a small Five-Star Red Flag was positioned to the right of the zipper, while the text "59 WUSHI" was printed on the left.

This year, the FIA had approved the decision to introduce personalized F1 driver numbers, bidding farewell to the ranking-based numbering system used since 1996. Now, every F1 driver could choose a number between 2 and 99 for themselves, and Wu Shi had chosen 59.

Although this was the first year of personalized numbers, every number in the top ten aside from 2 had already been taken. Naturally, Wu Shi wasn’t going to pick number 2. It was better to either win the World Championship and claim number 1, or choose a number with personal significance.

Picking number 2 just felt somewhat uncool. It wouldn’t even be as fun as preemptively snatching Lock’s 16 or Verstappen’s 33. The malicious thrill of stealing someone else’s number and leaving them with nothing was a rather amusing thought. Ultimately, however, Wu Shi had stuck with the number 59 he used in his past life.

There were still two hours before the practice session began, but the pit crew had been busy for a long time.

"PHEW." Taking in the scene before him, Wu Shi took a deep breath.

Saying there was no pressure would be a joke. Piloting a top-tier race car he had never touched before to fight for pole position against a grid of paddock geniuses would stress anyone out. Anyone claiming to feel no pressure was just an armchair critic full of hot air.

Sid glanced at him but said nothing else. At this point, any words would only disrupt the driver’s self-regulation. He found Toto and asked, "How’s the situation over at Williams?"

Toto nodded. "Sir Williams and his daughter, Claire, are both willing to wait."

Sid was somewhat surprised. Sir Williams was a rather ruthless man; to think he would actually wait just because of Toto’s words.

Seeing Sid’s expression, Toto knew he had misunderstood. "He’s willing to wait for Wu Shi, but not entirely because of me. It’s also because of you guys, or rather, because of him.

"Williams’s financial situation isn’t great, and your sponsorship will bring a lot of help to the team." After Toto finished speaking, he looked over at Wu Shi, who was chatting with Rosberg, and continued, "Sir Williams really appreciates him. He believes he’s a great driver, like Senna or Schumacher."

"That’s incredibly high praise," Sid sighed in admiration. Sir Williams was a team principal who wouldn’t hesitate to ruthlessly kick out a champion driver. For Wu Shi to catch his eye was enough to prove just how outstanding he truly was.

"Indeed." Toto fully agreed.

"Then why not consider this: if Wu Shi makes the top three in the first practice session, you give him a seat at the Mercedes Team?" Sid said jokingly. Achieving a top-three lap time in practice was far easier than securing one in qualifying.

Toto chuckled along but didn’t reply.

It was fair to say that the Mercedes Team was experiencing a blissful moment. The highly formidable Hamilton and Rosberg were their active drivers on the grid, while the future star, Wu Shi, was also in their camp. Yet, to Toto, this kind of bliss was a form of torture at this moment.

If either Hamilton or Rosberg were anything less than a top-tier driver, he would replace them without hesitation. But these two were drivers with World Drivers’ Championship caliber! Anyone would fall into a dilemma of judgment at a time like this.

On the other side, Rosberg was giving Wu Shi his final advice. "In short, street circuits must be treated with caution. Kid, you’re driving my car, so you better bring it back in one piece!"

"Of course I will," Wu Shi nodded.

Rosberg patted engineer Tony on the shoulder and said, "Communicate with him exactly like you communicate with me, and give him a bit more patience. I watched his performance at the Hockenheimring. He is a remarkably excellent young driver."

"A few weeks ago, the FIA just announced a ban on teams providing drivers with advantageous information beyond the status of the car itself, but I will try my best to help him," Tony nodded.

Rosberg gave Tony a look, though it was true that the FIA had recently announced this rule.

Wu Shi slid into the cockpit. Fortunately, his height was now about the same as Rosberg’s. Although his build was still a bit on the lean side, he fit snugly into the seat. Sitting inside the Silver Arrow, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated. It felt exactly like a swordsman finally grasping a legendary blade.

"Get a feel for the position first. If you need any adjustments, let us know," Tony said.

Wu Shi nodded. Suppressing his excitement, he began to adjust the seat according to his own habits.

Based on the characteristics of this stop, Pirelli had brought two specifications of dry-weather tires: the red supersofts and the yellow softs. Each driver could select thirteen sets of tires from these, with seven sets designated as the ’prime’ specification and six sets as the ’option’ specification.

Wu Shi didn’t know how Rosberg had chosen his tire allocations, but during this ninety-minute first practice session, he would definitely need to run on the supersofts at least once.

As six o’clock drew closer, the pit crew brought a few screens up to Wu Shi. They displayed track information and the other drivers’ telemetry. However, since the session had not yet begun, the data fields were completely blank.

"Start the car," Tony said once the time arrived.

Wu Shi nodded and fired up the vehicle.

VROOM! The roar of the engine rang out.

"Commence system checks."

Wu Shi began to run through the check procedures, cycling through the diagnostic items on his steering wheel. "Everything is normal."

Tony nodded. "Start with a run on the soft tires. Keep in mind that this is your first time at this circuit, so your primary objective is to bring the car back safely. No team likes a driver who only knows how to crash."

Wu Shi could sense the underlying displeasure in Tony’s tone. He didn’t say anything more; instead, he quietly felt the constant, rhythmic roar of the W05’s engine.