Chapter 175 - 96: Give Me a Chance to Push for Two Laps

Chapter 175: Chapter 96: Give Me a Chance to Push for Two Laps

The two cars sped down the straight. Approaching Turn 3, Wu Shi, as expected, took the middle line to defend.

Rosberg didn’t launch an attack, feeling the timing wasn’t right. As he followed the racing line and braked, he was surprised to find the car ahead was incredibly slow. In that split second, the gap between them vanished.

On the verge of a collision, he slammed on the brakes and yelled into his team radio, "Hey! What is he doing?!"

At the same time, Wu Shi told his team over the radio, "I feel like the car is a bit out of control."

With that said, he floored it out of the corner, pulling away from Rosberg, who had just been forced to brake hard.

’The car wasn’t out of control. It was just a couple of words to cover my own ass.’

Having bought himself some time with that devious little trick, Wu Shi maintained his lead through the second sector.

This part of the track favored the Williams; its pace wasn’t far off the Mercedes-Benz, so Rosberg had few opportunities to attack.

However, upon entering the third sector, Rosberg closed the gap by 0.12 seconds through just two corners: Turns 11 and 12.

After Turn 12 came a high-speed straight.

Wu Shi saw the Mercedes-Benz tailing him, using his slipstream to rapidly close in.

’Is the performance gap really this huge?!’

The shock only strengthened his resolve to keep the Mercedes-Benz behind him.

Jonathan (TR): "Massa can’t keep up. You’re clear to use Mode 4."

Wu Shi heard the message. He knew Jonathan meant Massa couldn’t provide any support. He didn’t reply right away. Instead, he pushed his car to the absolute limit through Turn 13, hugging the apex and gaining a slight advantage at the cost of tire wear. Only then did he respond:

"Got it."

Mode 4, to put it simply, was the high-performance setting. It put immense stress on the engine—so much that it might just blow.

But if he wanted to hold his position, he had no other choice.

He adjusted the settings on his steering wheel, and just as expected, his speed increased.

But a moment later, he saw Rosberg was still glued to his rear. Three more corners until the Great Straight. Could the Williams possibly hold off the attacking Mercedes-Benz?

Skill alone couldn’t make up for such a massive performance gap.

Wu Shi knew this all too well. Fortunately, the "DRS ENABLED" message hadn’t appeared yet, meaning Rosberg still couldn’t use his DRS.

His battery still had charge, and the engine was holding up.

’Full-throttle push!’

The two cars flew down the Great Straight, sparks showering from their underbodies. By the end of it, the Mercedes-Benz was still a ways behind the Williams.

Rosberg judged that this wasn’t the optimal position for an attack. Perhaps concerned about stability, the Mercedes-Benz wasn’t running its engine at full power.

Even so, the #6 Silver Arrow continued to close the gap efficiently through the seven corners following the Great Straight.

Jonathan (TR): "Be more conservative."

Wu Shi heard the order from his pit wall. He knew that based on the previous lap’s data, the strategy team had decided to stop fighting the Mercedes-Benz head-on.

The performance gap between the cars was just too massive; it was impossible to fight back.

"Roger."

After acknowledging, he dialed back the engine power and entered the high-speed Turn 8. In his mirrors, the Mercedes-Benz was nearly level with his rear wheels. The immense performance difference between the two cars was obvious to anyone watching.

Commentator David shook his head, saying with a hint of disappointment, "It looks like Wu Shi can’t hold off Rosberg’s attack any longer."

David’s disappointment stemmed from the fear that this year’s main spectacle would be the same as last year’s: just watching the two Mercedes-Benz drivers fight amongst themselves.

As they approached Turn 9, Wu Shi took the outside line, completely ignoring the massive gap he’d left on the inside.

This seemed to confirm everyone’s suspicion: Wu Shi was giving up the defense. David immediately commented:

"It looks like Wu Shi is giving up the defe—No! He’s suddenly changed his line! But Rosberg reacted incredibly quickly and moved to the outside!"

Wu Shi dove for the inside apex, with Rosberg right on his tail. Incredibly, Rosberg managed to hold his position on the outside line, leveraging the immense power of the Mercedes-Benz.

Turn 9 was a right-hander, but the upcoming Turn 10 was a left-hander. This meant the racing lines would switch. Wu Shi, now on the right, would be unable to take the inside line for Turn 10, forcing him onto the slower, longer path.

If not for Wu Shi’s slightly faster exit speed, he would have lost the position right there.

But Turn 10 was followed by a very long, sweeping left-hand curve. Rosberg, on the left, had the shorter, inside line.

And so, despite both cars exiting Turn 10 simultaneously, the Mercedes-Benz—without even needing a slipstream—simply powered past the Williams two-thirds of the way through the long curve.

"And he’s through. Ah..." David’s voice, which had just been full of excitement, deflated, and he couldn’t help but shake his head again.

Race Control: DRS ENABLED!

At that moment, the small green button on his steering wheel lit up.

When Wu Shi saw it, his mind raced. ’There’s still a chance!’

He was already loath to be overtaken; now, giving up was completely out of the question.

So, at the two high-speed corners, Turns 11 and 12, that followed the long curve, he risked a crash. Relying entirely on his feel for the car, he dove into Turn 11, nearly scraping the barrier on the right.

A black shadow flashed past the camera mounted on the corner barrier, leaving it shaking violently in its wake.

"My God! From that camera angle, was Wu Shi right up against the edge of the track?!" David exclaimed.

This borderline-suicidal driving style prevented the #6 Mercedes-Benz from exploiting its massive advantage in the high-speed corners. The gap remained under one second.

The moment he cleared Turn 12, DRS activated!

The Williams suddenly surged with speed, latching onto the Mercedes-Benz’s tail. Then, three-quarters of the way down the Great Straight, he pulled out to overtake.

As expected, Rosberg moved to the middle line to defend. But the Williams was more aggressive, continuing to force its way toward the inside.

’Why isn’t he braking?!’ Rosberg wondered in alarm.