How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 632 - 272: Verstappen’s Overwhelming Fortune (6K, Extra Update 14/16)_3

Before arriving at the DRS zone, Qin Miao had already pulled out and completed an outside pass on Norris, and after entering the DRS zone, sped up slightly, beginning to overtake Norris ahead at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Norris's corner exit speed was already at his limit, yet watching Qin Miao overtake him from the outside lane, Norris didn't feel much negativity, more of a helplessness.

Although McLaren also uses Mercedes engines, Mercedes is still much superior in terms of aerodynamics. Moreover, in this race, Qin Miao's car setup had very low downforce, achieving what could be said to be the highest top speed in this race.

Ultimately, Qin Miao completed his overtake of Norris before the braking point.

After overtaking Norris, Qin Miao moved up a position, reaching fifth place.

The fourth position ahead belonged to the very familiar Le the Fourth, Leclerc.

However, because Qin Miao had been focused on attacking Norris ahead, his speed had dropped a bit, with a current time gap of 6 seconds between Qin Miao and Leclerc.

After chasing for a few more laps, Qin Miao could brace wrists with Leclerc.

The team only updated Qin Miao on the time gap between him and Leclerc ahead in the first instance, informing him every lap of how many seconds he had closed on Leclerc, and estimating in how many laps he could catch up to him.

In the 41st lap, Qin Miao spent 7 laps chasing Leclerc, closing the gap by 5 seconds, finally entering the DRS zone behind Leclerc.

Meanwhile, Hamilton ahead began his assault on Ricardo ahead of him.

It seems third place wasn't enough to satisfy the seven-time champion; he aimed higher.

Ricardo, of course, defended Hamilton with all his might.

However, Hamilton at this point faced the same issue Verstappen did against Qin Miao.

When the speed difference isn't significant, facing a driver proficient in defense, especially as Ricardo is renowned for his late braking skills.

Hamilton awkwardly found he seemed to be stuck in third place, unable to overtake Ricardo ahead.

Even though Hamilton was faster than Ricardo, he couldn't find a way to overtake Ricardo ahead of him.

He was continually blocked by Ricardo's late braking at T1 and T4, the two most overtaking-friendly points.

If Hamilton intended to forcefully contest the cornering angle with Ricardo next, Ricardo could, with line advantage, just squeeze Hamilton off the track.

After all, before this race began, the race stewards had stressed the seriousness of last week's collision between Qin Miao and Verstappen before all drivers.

Hence everyone was more restrained in this regard.

At other corners, Hamilton still couldn't get close to Ricardo ahead.

Thus, several of Hamilton's attacks on Ricardo ahead ended in vain.

In the 48th lap, Qin Miao, trailing Leclerc for 7 laps, also encountered the same exasperating problem his teammate Hamilton faced.

Although Leclerc jovially bantered with Qin Miao in private, getting bested by him in the simulator, sometimes escalating to physical tussles when annoyed.

Being defended by Qin Miao for so long, even the slowest would progress somewhat, not to mention that Leclerc was originally one of the geniuses in this line of racing.

So Qin Miao surprisingly found himself in the same predicament as his teammate Hamilton.

However, unlike Hamilton, Leclerc didn't close the door too harshly, leaving Qin Miao some room.

While defending, he didn't push Qin Miao off the track.

And realizing things were insurmountable, Qin Miao didn't hand over the nuclear button to his racing duelist like Verstappen did.

Although the two occasionally dueled, both exercised restraint.

But as time passed, both began to grow anxious.

Qin Miao wondered how Leclerc still had tire grip after running so long.

Leclerc, on the other hand, was anxious about how long Qin Miao would chase, noting his own tires were nearly depleted, yearning for a moment of respite.

...

On the other side, while both Mercedes drivers were blocked, Verstappen at the front was overjoyed.

The one who benefited most from Mercedes' mistake this time was Verstappen.

Not only was there no obstruction from Qin Miao ahead, but the two Mercedes drivers were also blocked by other racers.

Now, Verstappen's mindset was akin to Qin Miao's upon winning the lottery back then.

In the 52nd lap, just as everyone thought the race might finish in the current order, an unexpected turn occurred.

Qin Miao's tire endurance had always been a mystery, which Leclerc didn't initially care about.

I'm familiar with Qin Miao, yet I haven't sensed how his tires run so well?

But after today, Leclerc completely changed his perspective.

After exiting T10 during the 52nd lap, Qin Miao activated his car's ERS, initiating a full power release.

Faced with Qin Miao's sudden attack, Leclerc, long in a precarious tire condition, was naturally helpless and could only watch as Qin Miao overtook him before reaching the braking point at T1.

This was an utter speed massacre; beyond watching Qin Miao extend his lead, Leclerc could do little except lament over the team radio, "How are Qin Miao's medium tires still maintaining such speed after running so long?"