Chapter 165 - 86: The Indecisive Throttle

Chapter 165: Chapter 86: The Indecisive Throttle

Leclerc came to his senses as well, feeling that Wu Shi’s anxiety was a bit excessive.

Everyone knew today’s race would be dangerous, but what Rain Battle wasn’t?

Even Wu Shi himself had driven to the absolute extreme at Norisring. From an outsider’s perspective, his driving style was simply reckless.

So why was he so worried now that it was someone else on the track?

Wu Shi felt helpless. If he didn’t know what was about to happen, he would be just like the spectators in the stands, eagerly anticipating an exciting Rain Battle.

But he knew something, and he had to bear the weight of that knowledge.

Before the race, he’d even resorted to superstition, saying he dreamed Bianchi might have an accident at Turn 7. He had been on the verge of telling Bianchi to withdraw immediately.

But Bianchi obviously wasn’t going to withdraw just because of his words. Missing a Grand Prix for a reason like that in his first year in the paddock would essentially ruin his career. Not to mention it would be a breach of contract, and he could face a hefty fine afterward.

’I’ve said all I can say.’

Wu Shi sighed. It was just the way things were. If someone didn’t want to listen, it was useless no matter what you said. It might even make them resent you.

The race began. Under a torrential downpour, the track was severely waterlogged. The FIA decided to start the race with a rolling start behind the safety car.

Rolling starts were fairly common in F3, but this was a first for F1.

"See? No need to worry so much. Race Control has taken notice," Verstappen said reassuringly.

The drivers had barely accelerated behind the safety car when the spray from the tires and the standing water kicked up by the wakes turned the entire track into a forest of mist. The drivers’ visibility was near zero.

Concerned for the drivers’ safety, Race Control decisively threw a red flag.

The drivers returned to the pit lane.

Twenty minutes later, the rain had eased slightly, and the cars followed the safety car out of the pit lane to resume the race.

However, the amount of standing water on the track was still extreme. Race Control didn’t allow the race to restart, so the safety car continued to lead the pack.

After eight laps, the rain had eased even more. The drivers reported that they could see the track, so on the ninth lap, the safety car pulled in, and the race officially began.

"The rain is getting lighter," Leclerc said, standing under the eaves of the pit building and extending a hand to catch a few drops.

"Yeah, and the track conditions are improving," Verstappen nodded, his focus almost entirely on the race.

As twenty-two cars repeatedly ran over the same racing line, a path quickly appeared on the track. It was darker in color than the wetter sections, but it actually held less water.

On lap twelve, Button and Maldonado immediately chose to pit for intermediate tires.

Two laps later, their clear pace advantage prompted a wave of other drivers to pit for new tires.

The two Red Bull drivers, in particular, switched to intermediates and, within ten laps, overtook both Williams cars and Button to climb to fourth and fifth.

The track conditions continued to improve, the rain showed no signs of intensifying, and the drivers were fully engaged in the battle for position.

The teams’ data strategists weren’t just staring at car and track data; they were also constantly monitoring the weather maps provided by meteorological radar. They had to use this data to predict the weather’s trajectory.

Major teams like Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari had more powerful data centers that could generate predictive models from vast amounts of reference data, but the final call was still made by a human.

As the race settled into a calm rhythm, lap after lap, Wu Shi began to think that maybe an accident wouldn’t happen after all. Given the light rain, it seemed unlikely to affect the race.

However, on lap forty, the rain grew heavier.

The FIA immediately issued an order: DRS disabled.

Some teams followed suit, pitting to switch to full wets.

RUSH!!!

Howling winds carried the torrential rain, which continued to lash the Suzuka Circuit. In the mist, the roar of the engines sounded muffled, as if wrapped in a film.

Over the team radio, Williams once again stressed that its two drivers needed to be careful.

But Wu Shi’s bad feeling was growing stronger. He stared at the gloomy broadcast feed, at the track that was now almost impossible to make out.

BEEP!

Sauber Team’s Sutil lost control at Turn 7 and crashed into the wall! A local yellow was waved.

On the track, mist and spray filled the air. In the dim, light-starved conditions, Bianchi stared at the track through a visor constantly streaked with water.

Any driver who has raced in the rain knows that in a downpour like this, you’re basically driving blind.

But when the flashing red tail light of the car ahead occasionally pierced the spray, every driver also knew it was an opportunity to move up the order.

So, they wouldn’t slow down too much.

On lap forty-three, a crane was in the runoff area of Turn 7, hoisting Sutil’s car.

Bianchi knew there was an accident ahead; the team had informed him of the local yellow flags. But even though they had slowed down considerably, their speed was still immense.

Turn 7 was the final part of the continuous S-curves from Turn 3 to Turn 7. Unlike the serpentine esses that preceded it, this was a fast, sweeping corner.

Exiting Turn 6, the drivers would begin to pick up speed.

Bianchi was stuck at the back of a four-car train. The Marussia was extremely unstable this year, its performance abysmal. While others fought for the top five, he fought just to finish fifteenth.

He pressed the accelerator as usual, but for some reason, the words that young man, Wu Shi, had been muttering ever since they got off the plane flashed through his mind.

’Turn 7?’

He had already driven through here forty-two times. And though the track conditions were constantly changing, he was confident his feel for the circuit was updating in real time, too. He wanted to keep up with the cars ahead.

In the instant that thought flickered through his mind, his foot on the accelerator was less decisive than before.

Yet with just that slight application of the throttle, the car seemed to lose all grip, as if it were on ice, and instantly began to slide.

’But I’m already going so slow!’

It all happened in an instant. By the time he hit the brakes and tried to counter-steer to save the car, it was already completely out of control, sliding toward the runoff area.

And at that exact moment, the crane in the runoff area had just finished hoisting Sutil’s car.

CRUNCH!!!

In the blink of an eye, Bianchi’s car slammed into the back of the crane, the impact so great it lifted the massively heavy vehicle, before his car plunged headfirst into the tire barrier.

"OH!!!"

Cries of alarm erupted from the nearby grandstands.

But far away in the pit lane, Wu Shi and the others were still unaware of what had happened. The broadcast cameras didn’t show the crash site at all.

Being with the team, Wu Shi’s group quickly heard over the team radio headsets that there had been another accident at Turn 7.

"Who is it?"

He instinctively asked the Williams race engineer, Jonathan Carter.

Carter was silent for a moment before answering, "Bianchi."

"What!" Leclerc cried out, aghast.

Verstappen’s brow furrowed, his expression turning grimmer than it had ever been.

A few minutes later, Race Control showed the red flag, ending the race prematurely.

The medical car was deployed, speeding toward the crash site.

Wu Shi looked up. Under the gloomy sky, everything seemed unchanged.

"What about the medical helicopter?!" Verstappen was the first to think of it, shouting urgently.

"Typhoon conditions. It can’t take off," Carter replied.