Chapter 161 - 82: This Is the Gap Between Wu Shi and You

Chapter 161: Chapter 82: This Is the Gap Between Wu Shi and You

Wu Shi, having driven the Mercedes-Benz simulator all day, gained a tremendous amount, especially after Peter joined in as an engineering consultant along with the simulator engineers.

At six o’clock in the evening, Free Practice 3 officially began. The results were not much different from Free Practice 2. By this time, some drivers had already realized something was amiss.

Wu Shi’s time of 1 minute and 45.879 seconds seemed somewhat terrifying! Especially for many of the teams at the back of the grid, they figured that even if they drove as hard as they could in qualifying, they still wouldn’t be able to achieve this lap time.

The reporters took the opportunity to conduct interviews, asking everyone for their thoughts on Wu Shi and his lap time.

Neon driver Kobayashi Kamui stated, "I think he just has a fast car."

Bianchi, who was on fairly good terms with Wu Shi, was very positive. "He has been this outstanding since he was a kid. When I first met him, I knew he would achieve extraordinary things in this sport."

Maldonado, Perez, and Hulkenberg did not express any real opinions, simply offering some platitudes. Magnussen and Button, like Kobayashi Kamui, believed that Wu Shi simply had a fast car. Grosjean, Vettel, and Ricciardo, on the other hand, expressed their admiration for Wu Shi’s stunning performance.

Massa couldn’t help but say, "No matter which team he’s on, I always feel that his arrival at the Italy Station will make the fans go wild. Especially the young girls. People around me are already asking for his contact information, but unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with him yet."

Louise, seeing this clip shortly after, angrily clicked the report button.

Kimi joked, "If he hasn’t been practicing driving since he was in the womb, then it must be that my talent is far inferior to his."

Alonso said, "I really want to finish this Grand Prix quickly so I can have a chat with him." If it weren’t for the fact that he hadn’t started a management agency yet, many reporters would have likely reported straight away that this two-time world champion was trying to poach him.

Bottas stated he had nothing to say. He had at least caught wind of some rumors, and his impression of Wu Shi was honestly not very good.

Hamilton and Rosberg directly declined to be interviewed, feeling that expressing any opinions at this time would be meaningless.

In short, what should have been interviews focusing on everyone’s Free Practice 3 results turned into inquiries about Wu Shi and how the various drivers in the paddock viewed him.

When the time reached nine o’clock in the evening, the atmosphere at the circuit finally grew heated. The clock started for the first qualifying session!

A total of twenty-two drivers were successively released from the pit lane. Because the times in Free Practice 2 and 3 had already improved to around 1 minute and 46 seconds, the front-row teams had no intention of taking it slow and immediately started putting in laps. After only four or five laps, everyone’s results were out. This was significantly shorter compared to the past, when it took seven or eight laps.

Six drivers—Sutil, Maldonado, Bianchi, Kobayashi Kamui, Chilton, and Ericsson—were eliminated. Among them were one Sauber, one Lotus, two Marussias, and two Caterhams.

The two Ferraris uncommonly took first and second place. Kimi was the fastest, though he still didn’t break into the 1 minute 45 seconds bracket, recording a time of 1 minute 46.685 seconds. Alonso was second, 0.204 seconds slower. Hamilton was third, another 0.236 seconds slower than Alonso. The only drivers to run into the 1 minute 46 seconds range were the top three.

This result was not surprising to anyone. In Q1, as long as a driver could successfully advance, it was enough; the front-row drivers wouldn’t push too hard.

After the clock started for Q2, it took only two laps for Hamilton to set a time of 1 minute 46.287 seconds, surpassing Kimi’s Q1 time, after which he returned to the pit garage. As soon as Mercedes-Benz exerted a little effort, Ferrari could only desperately try to hang onto their tail.

After Alonso and Kimi set times of 1 minute 46.328 seconds and 1 minute 46.359 seconds respectively, they also chose to enter the pit lane. The two Red Bulls were somewhat slower, but the commentators believed that Red Bull was still holding back.

Rosberg delayed his pit stop for a long time. Just like the drivers at the back who were at risk of elimination, he ran a full six laps! But he wasn’t doing this to avoid elimination; he was doing it to beat Hamilton’s time. To achieve this, he even changed into a new set of supersoft tires! It was a good thing Wu Shi hadn’t used them, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to crack open another set of tires.

Right before the clock stopped, he started his sixth lap. After setting the fastest overall time in two consecutive sectors, he beat Hamilton’s time with a 1 minute 45.825 seconds.

CLAP CLAP CLAP!

Applause broke out in the Mercedes-Benz pit garage. At this moment, the broadcast camera focused on Wu Shi. The director certainly understood the language of the lens.

Wearing an over-ear headset, Wu Shi clapped along with the team, looking very calm. He had long anticipated that the two senior veterans would surpass him. It should be said that if they couldn’t surpass him, then there would be a problem.

At nine-fifty in the evening, the clock started for Q3.

To increase the spectacle of Q3, under the 2014 racing regulations, the race organizers would distribute an extra set of supersoft tires exclusively for the Q3 qualifying session, which would be returned after the session ended.

Q3 gave the drivers a total of twelve minutes to perform. After changing into supersoft tires and warming them up, everyone began to do their flying laps in batches.

Ricciardo was the first to set the fastest lap of the session with a 1 minute 45.987 seconds, temporarily taking first place. However, the two Mercedes-Benz drivers who made the initial sprint failed to set good times, only placing sixth and seventh.

When it was Kimi’s turn for his first flying lap, he immediately beat Ricciardo’s time in the first and second sectors. Just as everyone thought Ferrari was also about to break into the 1 minute 45 seconds bracket, Kimi’s car suddenly slowed down and came to a stop by the side of the track.

Kimi said over the team radio, "NO POWER."

The driver from Finland seemed a little regretful, though his tone was calm. The brief yellow flag forced the rest of the drivers to run an extra lap. Seeing this change, Wu Shi pursed his lips.

"There isn’t much time left! There’s only one flying lap window remaining for all the drivers!" the commentator yelled, also growing tense as he looked at Wu Shi’s figure appearing on the screen.

Two minutes later, Vettel crossed the finish line. 1 minute 45.902 seconds!

"Hiss! That’s slower than the pace Wu Shi set in Free Practice 1! Could it be!" Before the commentator could finish, the camera shifted to Alonso. However, he was 0.3 seconds slower in the second sector—a fatal gap. Even though he set his personal best in the third sector, his final result was still not enough. Only 1 minute 45.907 seconds! Slower than Vettel.

"Alonso is also slower than Wu Shi! Does this mean the time Wu Shi achieved in Free Practice 1 will really place him in the top three?!" the commentator shouted loudly. Alonso represented Ferrari, and Vettel represented Red Bull; their lap times were authoritative enough within their teams! This meant that at this point, there should only be the two Mercedes-Benz cars left that could surpass Wu Shi’s lap time.

"Let’s see. There are still the final three drivers flying on the track. Rosberg has launched his sprint first!

"He set the fastest lap in the first sector! How terrifying!

"Hamilton begins his flying lap!

"Rosberg sets the fastest lap again in the second sector! What is he doing?!

"Ricciardo starts his final flying lap right before the clock stops!"

At this time, there were only three speeding cars left on the track. The timing data for all three appeared simultaneously at the bottom of the screen.

"Rosberg crosses the line! His time is 1 minute 45.688 seconds! Wow, did it really take until now for a lap time to genuinely break Wu Shi’s record?!

"Hamilton locked up at turn one! But he is still three thousandths of a second faster than Rosberg!"

Hamilton drove the Silver Arrow at top speed. In a street circuit like Singapore, pole position was incredibly important! He would not allow victory to slip from his grasp again. He drove so aggressively that he had to make corrections at multiple corners, yet his corrections did not affect his lap time!

In the second sector, he was another one thousandth of a second faster!

At this moment, Ricciardo’s time in the first sector appeared: 27.798 seconds, which was 0.12 seconds slower than Wu Shi!

The commentator felt like he couldn’t keep an eye on both ends—on one side was Hamilton’s stellar lap, and on the other was Ricciardo’s crucial lap! Everyone present couldn’t help but hold their breath. No one expected that the battle for third place would be just as riveting as the battle for first.

"Hamilton crosses the line! He was four thousandths of a second faster in the third sector! 1 minute 45.661 seconds! We can already congratulate Hamilton in advance! He has secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix!

"That was a truly thrilling lap!"

After the commentator’s roar ended, half the circuit was jubilant, while the other half kept their eyes on Ricciardo. His time in the second sector was 40.013 seconds; compared to Wu Shi’s time, he had clawed back 0.083 seconds!

"We look towards Ricciardo! His time—he just passed the second sector, and the sum of his two sectors is still slower than Wu Shi’s."

Hamilton, who had just crossed the line, spoke on the team radio, "How is my time?"

Because of the new regulations, teams were actually not allowed to inform drivers of time gaps over the team radio.

"We are watching Ricciardo," Peter replied.

"What? Is his lap faster?"

"No," Peter denied.

Hamilton fell silent. In the span of a few sentences, time ticked away in their back-and-forth exchange.

Ricciardo navigated through turn 21 and charged toward the final two high-speed corners. Light and shadows flickered as the red and black car sped past.

WHOOSH!

Ricciardo crossed the finish line, and the final time was out. 1 minute 45.854 seconds.

"YES! YES! WOO-HOO!"

Amidst the silence, Ricciardo’s cheers over the team radio seemed somewhat out of place.

"Hey, guys! I feel like I drove really well! How is it?" he continued on the radio.

"Twenty-five thousandths of a second," the engineer replied.

"WHAT?" Ricciardo was confused.

"Sorry, that is the gap between Wu Shi and you. Congratulations, you’ve taken third place."