How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 642 - 275: Russell the Clever Rascal

From an aerial view, the Sochi Autodrom looks especially clean at the moment.

Today the weather is cloudy, with an air temperature of 14 degrees Celsius. Due to a recent rain, the track temperature is only 17 degrees Celsius, with 75% humidity and a southeast wind blowing at 8.2 kilometers per hour.

During the time before the race starts, Matthew has been driving the water truck to clear standing water off the track.

It's believed that once the qualifying rounds officially begin, it won't take long for the water on the track to dry up.

Initially, Red Bull intended to replace Verstappen's engine after the third practice session.

Verstappen's old engine could still run one practice session but could not withstand the test of a qualifying round and the main race.

After the third practice, replacing Verstappen's engine would, on one hand, allow data collection and, to some extent, protect the engine's durability.

Now that the third practice has been canceled, Red Bull went ahead and directly equipped Verstappen with a new engine.

Verstappen has already exhausted his engine allocation, so this engine replacement requires him to accept a penalty.

Thus, Red Bull replaced all replaceable components on Verstappen's car with new ones, effectively taking all time penalties at once.

This results in Verstappen starting from the back of the grid during the main race tomorrow.

Aside from Verstappen, both Leclerc and Latifi also chose to replace components of their engines, resulting in them starting from the back of the grid as well.

The qualifying sessions began amidst the analysis from the three commentators.

At the start of the qualifying session, everyone was using intermediate tires.

Although the rain had stopped, and Matthew had been clearing standing water from the track before the session started, there was still a significant amount of water on the track.

As previously mentioned, Sochi Autodrom's fine asphalt is unfavorable for the evaporation and drainage of rainwater.

In the first half of Q1, Qin Miao didn't feel comfortable, finding the track extremely slippery compared to the rainy condition simulations on the Mercedes simulator.

During the qualifying rounds, Qin Miao was both sliding and reacquainting himself with how to drive the track in rainy conditions.

Notably, Red Bull tactically abandoned the qualifying session for Verstappen due to his penalty in tomorrow's race.

They sent Verstappen out for two laps to run in the newly installed engine, confirming it could operate normally before bringing him back in.

Verstappen naturally did not participate in the rest of Q1.

Fans who frequently play simulators would have a strong impression of the Sochi track.

Compared to tracks like Silverstone, Spa, and Monza, Sochi lacks driving enjoyment.

The most distinctive feature of Sochi Autodrom is that most of its corners are 90° right-angle turns.

Racing here feels like being caught by a teacher and being forced to demonstrate your basic racing skills.

During the first flying lap of Q1, Qin Miao moved up to eighth place.

The slow pace was mainly due to the light rain that began again, showing no sign of drying the track.

Despite the 19 cars on the track using intermediate tires to try and clear the water, the effect was limited, and after ten minutes, no clear driving line emerged on the track.

By the end of Q1, only some minor lines appeared in less rainy sections, but these lines quickly filled with rainwater again.

After Q1, Qin Miao's performance was not ideal, securing sixth place for advancement to Q2.

This result wasn't about testing the fans' patience or inducing a heart attack; Qin Miao truly did not anticipate the track's slipperiness in wet conditions and was cautiously probing the limits of both the car and himself during flying laps.

Thus, the final result was not very impressive.

But in Q1, simply advancing is enough, can't ask for more than that.

After Q1 stopped, the eliminated drivers were: Kimi, Mick, Giovinazzi, Mazepin, Verstappen.

Pan didn't even come out for the second half of Q1 as he wasn't in the car, and it was covered with a rain tarp and pushed behind the Red Bull pit garage.

Following a short intermission and adjustments, Q2 commenced.

The rain truly stopped for Q2, and noticeable driving lines began to appear as drivers completed two laps, yet the track was still remarkably slippery.

The asphalt gaps were filled with tiny droplets, causing cars not to kick up high mist like in other circuits' wet conditions but resulting in drainage difficulties. Despite 19 F1 cars running on intermediate tires for the entire Q1, the track condition showed no significant improvement, and only lines appeared without signs of drying.

Therefore, after the first flying lap in Q2, Qin Miao did not enter the pit for adjustments and remained on the track.

Though the water was evaporating slowly, it was not impossible for it to dry.

As the track conditions improved, lap times would get faster, and entering the pit now could risk missing the opportunity for the fastest lap, so most drivers remained out on the track during this time.