Why won’t he just listen?!
From that point on, the team radio transmissions grew scarce—a clear sign of the pit crew’s frustration.
David couldn’t help but chime in, "Wu Shi is an excellent driver. He made it to the F1 stage as the youngest driver, and we’ve seen his fighting spirit! We’ve seen his hunger for victory!
"He was undoubtedly born for the racetrack. In his eyes, there’s only one direction: forward, forward, and ever forward! This fearless pursuit of ultimate speed... I see shades of the great drivers of the past in him.
"But perhaps because he’s so young, he doesn’t understand the importance of following team orders. This will undoubtedly cause problems for him later in his career."
At this moment, the chief analyst, Brundle, spoke up. "He’s like Don Quixote charging at a windmill. The performance gap between the two cars makes this three-lap dogfight seem utterly meaningless."
That comment silenced David.
It was true. On screen, the Williams was using every inch of the track, trying every trick in the book, all to gain the slightest advantage.
Yet that advantage would quickly evaporate on the long straights, vanishing completely over the course of the race.
"But he’s giving us an incredibly exciting race, isn’t he?"
As the two commentators spoke, the two cars, one behind the other, were already heading into Turn 12.
Mercedes-Benz TR: "He’s close, be careful. He can still attack with DRS."
Rosberg was panting. He didn’t respond until he was through the turn, then he roared, "Yes! I know!"
Wu Shi was in the DRS zone again after Turn 12.
He quickly closed the gap to a tenth of a second, gluing himself to the back of the Mercedes-Benz once more.
He had to take the inside line for the upcoming Turn 13, so he pulled out from behind without hesitation.
The Mercedes-Benz had a slightly lower top speed here, but only just. Rosberg immediately seized the opportunity to squeeze to the inside, claiming the line first.
Wu Shi could, of course, switch back to the outside and take that open line.
But a Williams wasn’t a Mercedes-Benz. It couldn’t maintain perfect stability through the turn. Trying that wouldn’t result in an overtake on the outside; it would mean falling completely behind!
Since Turns 13 and 14 were both right-handers, taking the inside line for Turn 13 was crucial for Turn 14 as well.
He chose to stay tucked in behind the Mercedes-Benz, the smell of gasoline wafting through the vents in his helmet.
CRUNCH!
Rosberg mounted the curb, sending a slight shudder through the car. He had cut to the inside too aggressively.
The mistake made him instantly check his mirrors. Thankfully, Wu Shi hadn’t taken the outside line; otherwise, he’d have been in trouble.
He quickly corrected the steering, stabilized the car, and accelerated away.
’Driving in his dirty air is actually saving my tires?’
Wu Shi followed him through Turn 13, unable to stop a sarcastic thought. Rosberg had been incredibly slow, as if he were trying to save his tires.
A lack of composure under high pressure had always been one of Rosberg’s major weaknesses.
This pressure wasn’t just about having a competitor on his tail; it was about saving face. After all, he was battling a rookie who wasn’t even of legal age!
He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if he lost.
Wu Shi wasn’t thinking about any of that. The slow pace through Turn 13 had given his tires a slight reprieve.
But through Turns 14, 15, and 16, Rosberg returned to his normal pace. Wu Shi, stuck in the hot, turbulent air, had to fight desperately for grip, which only accelerated his tire degradation.
However, past Turn 16, there was another DRS zone.
And without a doubt, he was still within a second of Rosberg.
Coming around to Turn 1 again, Rosberg saw the Williams shoot up alongside him and felt a suffocating sense of frustration.
By now, Lewis had already opened up a two-second lead!
That might not have been entirely bad news, since it meant Lewis could no longer give Wu Shi a DRS tow after Turn 2 like before.
The depressing part, however, was that while Wu Shi didn’t retake the position this time, he stayed right on Rosberg’s tail into Turn 2 and was in the DRS zone yet again.
’If I’d just tapped the brakes...’
’No, brake-checking him in that position would earn me an instant black flag, wouldn’t it?’
Wu Shi was struggling to keep up. It wasn’t just that the dirty air was destroying his tires; the loss of front-wing downforce made the Williams, whose aerodynamics were mediocre to begin with, even more difficult to control.
Several times, he had to wrestle with the steering wheel mid-corner, narrowly avoiding losing control and hitting the wall.
Just then, the broadcast director cut to Wu Shi’s onboard camera.
On lap ten, the gap between the two cars had widened to 0.5 seconds.
In a few more laps, even with DRS, Wu Shi would be shaken off by Rosberg.
And yet, despite their fierce battle, Massa in fourth place was still 2.3 seconds behind them, which just went to show the incredible pace Wu Shi was maintaining!
The Williams Team’s strategy group once again realized the situation was different than they’d thought. Even Claire couldn’t help but say to strategy engineer Rodrigo Barerra:
"Is there nothing we can do?"
Jonathan, listening from the side, was taken aback. Just a moment ago, after Wu Shi had quietly defied team orders, the team principal’s expression had been thunderous. Why did she seem to be changing her mind now?
"He’s so tenacious! Unbelievably tenacious! Wu Shi still hasn’t given up. I have to wonder how much longer his tires can hold out! Both Rosberg’s and Wu Shi’s lap times have already dropped by 0.3 seconds, and Massa is closing the gap."
"Whatever happens, I really hope we don’t see any problems with this Hua Country rookie’s tires!"
Regardless of which driver they supported, everyone watching was a racing fan at heart. And with a battle this intense, they were all shouting their approval.
Entering the eleventh lap, Rosberg had pulled a gap of about 0.8 seconds on Wu Shi. One more lap and he would be out of DRS range.
Jonathan TR: "How are the tires feeling?"
Wu Shi TR: "Yes, my tires are definitely in better shape than Rosberg’s!"
Of course, that was a lie. The grip from this set of soft tires was already frighteningly low. If not for his ability to constantly sense the car’s feedback, he most likely would have been forced to pit by now.
To be blunt, anyone else would have had to slow down. Maintaining this speed was just asking to spin out and crash!
As a result, his racing line into the corners was now completely different from how he’d driven in the first few laps.
He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. As long as the tires didn’t blow, he would keep going! Because Rosberg’s speed was also dropping.
Mercedes-Benz TR: "Box! Box!"
Suddenly, a team order crackled in Rosberg’s earpiece.
The number 6 Mercedes-Benz was pitting for new tires!
In truth, anyone could see this was inevitable. In the first two sectors alone, Massa had gained 0.2 seconds on both Wu Shi and Rosberg. That rate of tire degradation was astonishing!
After Turn 15, Rosberg steered into the pit lane.
As the Silver Arrow that had been blocking his path disappeared, Wu Shi said over the TR, "Give me two laps to push!"