For Wu Shi, going all-out for a push lap meant immense tire degradation. He'd take every corner at the absolute limit, bringing the tires to the verge of sliding.
Pushing them that hard would cause massive deformation as he turned. A few laps like that, and the tires would be completely shot.
The team's plan was surely for him to push for two consistent laps. With two lap times faster than 1:32.169, he could secure a spot on the second row for Race 2 and pole position for Race 3.
This certainly seemed like the safer strategy, but considering two factors, he wasn't planning on following the team's orders for this session.
First, there was the remaining set of new tires. Per this weekend's regulations, it could only be unsealed for Race 3. This meant everyone would be on equal footing tire-wise for that race. And when there's no tire advantage, doesn't it all come down to the skill of the driver and the quality of the car?
