How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 644 - 276: Norris’s Desire

Before the start of Q1, Qin Miao had already told the team that he wanted to switch to dry tires for the race.

But the team refused at that time.

And as it turned out, Qin Miao's choice was the correct one.

Mercedes team let Qin Miao down once again.

Making mistakes isn't scary; what's scary is when someone tells you the right answer and you still make a mistake, and worse, you drag the person who knew the right answer down with you.

That's quite awkward.

Qin Miao silently drove his car back to the inspection area.

Upon getting out of the car, Qin Miao saw Hamilton's car. At that moment, Qin Miao didn't know that Hamilton didn't make it to the top three in Q3 either, so he was somewhat surprised to see Hamilton's car.

However, just like the unexpected situation he encountered, Hamilton might have faced an unforeseen challenge as well.

So Qin Miao didn't dwell on it but started to ponder.

Clearly having the strength but unable to fully utilize it due to various reasons, failing to achieve good results—if it were Hamilton, what would he do?

As he thought, Qin Miao went to weigh in with his helmet and gloves.

The final Sochi qualifying Q3 rankings were as follows:

1: Norris

2: Sainz

3: Russell

4: Hamilton

5: Ricardo

6: Qin Miao

7: Alonso

8: Stroll

9: Perez

10: O'Kang

It's worth noting that the fourth and sixth places achieved by Qin Miao and Hamilton in this race were done on intermediate tires.

After the post-race weigh-in and attending a post-race interview, Qin Miao returned to the team's paddock once the work was done.

By then, Toto had already left the team's paddock and had gone to their team home.

When Qin Miao returned, he only saw the race director, Ron Meadows, and didn't see Toto.

However, it wasn't long before Mercedes' strategy director, James Vincent, approached Qin Miao.

He immediately explained to Qin Miao why the team didn't let him pit for a tire change right away.

Actually, the team's reasoning was justified.

After all, for Mercedes, the risk of switching to dry tires at the start of Q3 was simply too high.

If they changed to dry tires at that moment, they could only complete one flying lap because, just like the issue Qin Miao encountered earlier, at least 6 minutes of preparation time was needed to get the soft tires to operate at the right working temperature for a lap.

After completing a full force flying lap, Qin Miao would have to return to the team's paddock to change a new set of tires, which would take another six minutes.

With only 10 minutes in total for a Q3 session, if the soft tires didn't perform well, or if the lap time was canceled, Qin Miao would have to start in tenth for the race tomorrow.

Although no one in Mercedes doubted Qin Miao's consistency, since there was a way to safely secure a good result, why take the risk?

And Russell's sudden appearance surprised not only Mercedes but most teams in the paddock didn't expect Russell to intervene suddenly, nor did Alonso, Stroll, or Perez manage to do a final flying lap.

Otherwise, could Russell strut around in third place?

Despite being somewhat angry, Qin Miao didn't really feel it was the team's mistake this time because back then, he did have a choice, and Qin Miao agreed when the team suggested he first run an effective lap on intermediates.

The reason Qin Miao was mad this time was that his luck was truly quite bad.

Vincent's explanation served as a way for both parties to step down, and Qin Miao followed suit.

The matter was then put to rest.

At this moment, Hamilton and his Physical Trainer Angela also returned.

Qin Miao greeted the Old Man, and after seeing Hamilton, Vincent excused himself to go find Hamilton.

Sometimes the team's strategy director can be quite humble; when the team's strategy goes wrong, he needs to put out fires everywhere.

When apologizing to others, he becomes as humble as a grandson.

Qin Miao shook his head to dispel these distracting thoughts, packed his things, and then held a post-qualifying debriefing meeting with Toto, Hamilton, and the management staff of both their teams.

After that, the day's work was completely finished.

Returning to the hotel, Qin Miao didn't check his phone. After taking a shower, he chatted with Qimeng for a while in bed before going to sleep.

Sunday, the day of the race.

Contrary to the weather report from Friday night, when Qin Miao got up, there was no rain in the sky, not even a single raindrop.

The sky was just a bit overcast.

This was considered good news.

After arriving at the paddock in the morning and attending the routine meeting, Qin Miao didn't rest and went directly to the team's weather department.

Qin Miao mainly went to check their weather forecast for the day.

The results Qin Miao got were satisfactory; the weather department's report stated:

There was a high probability of two light showers before the start of the race, but both would be in the morning, and the rain would not be too heavy or last long.

Despite Sochi Autodrom's poor drainage, the rain was expected long before the race start, so there was no concern about the track being wet during the race.

As long as the race doesn't delay, the chances of rainfall during the race itself are very low.

Additionally, the track temperature throughout the race period won't be too high, which could cause tires to heat up relatively slowly.