After all, this was the consequence of the Red Bull Racing team's inadequate reminders.

Though the penalty was quite severe, fortunately, they weren't penalized to start further back.

Ultimately, Qin Miao used more sets of soft tires in Q2 than he imagined, and in the final flying lap, Qin Miao's lap time reached 1:43.111.

This result was enough for Qin Miao to steadily enter Q3. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

As for Zhou Guanyu, it was unclear whether it was due to too much pressure, a car setup issue, or a problem from the team.

During Q2, he and Bottas only managed to complete one flying lap.

The original plan was to do two, but during their second flying lap on that set of tires, a yellow flag appeared on the track, invalidating both Alfa Romeo drivers' lap times.

Actually, Zhou Guanyu's first flying lap time was good, at 1:43.380, just at the doorstep of Q3's cutoff.

Compared to Alonso, Zhou Guanyu was only slower by 0.02 seconds.

However, during the final flying lap, the Alfa Romeo team was slow in releasing the cars, resulting in Zhou Guanyu and Bottas failing to cross the finish line to start their last flying lap before Q2's stopwatch ran out.

Ultimately, Zhou Guanyu was eliminated at the cutoff line.

[The suspended heart finally dies]

[Alfa Romeo truly is Ferrari's satellite team, never disappointing in messing things up]

[Alfa Romeo's crappy strategy team, putting a pig there would be better]

[Don't mess around if you can't play the tricks]

[It's another cutoff line, I feel so dumb]

[I've finally understood, Zhou Guanyu's biggest rival this season isn't drivers like Alonso, Tsunoda, or Ricardo, but his own team and its strategy group]

...

Once again, Zhou Guanyu was stopped at Q2 due to his team's idiotic operations, and naturally, his fans online lashed out aggressively.

The only consolation for Zhou Guanyu's fans was that Bottas was also screwed over by the team, even more severely.

Bottas didn't have a good first flying lap time in Q2, so when Q2 ended, Bottas was eliminated in 15th place.

The drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Zhou Guanyu, Norris, Ricardo, O'Kang, Bottas.

In Q3, Qin Miao drove rather casually.

The first flying lap was just a warm-up, finishing with a lap time of only 1:43.009.

He was positioned sixth.

However, after completing his first flying lap and returning to the team's pit room to rest, Frankie's voice sounded on the team radio: "Qin Miao, Hamilton wants you to give him a tow in Q3."

After hearing this, Qin Miao responded without hesitation, "Sure, when do we start?"

"Confirmed? Then our team strategy group will start arranging, please hold on." Once Frankie confirmed Qin Miao had no objections, he consulted with the team's strategy group to discuss the timing for Qin Miao and Hamilton's exit from the pit lane.

In under half a minute, Qin Miao's team staff received the notice, uncovered Qin Miao's tire warmers, and sent Qin Miao out.

Subsequently, under the team's coordination and adjustments, about one second after Qin Miao exited T16, Hamilton began his flying lap appearing right behind Qin Miao.

Chinese people emphasize reciprocity, so before heading out, Qin Miao had Reyes adjust his front wing to the lowest angle, minimizing air resistance.

Once the qualifying started, the car's settings indeed can't be altered, but this refers to the angle of the rear wing, tire camber and toe, chassis height, suspension rigidity, etc.

The angle of the car's front wing can be adjusted.

After all, the part of the car most likely to be damaged is the front wing. If the front wing gets damaged, it must be replaced during a pit stop, and at that point, the setup can't possibly remain as initially configured.

If FIA investigates deeply, it would surely be a mess, so FIA simply allows alterations to front wing settings during qualifying and the race.