How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 647 - 277: Sochi Main Race (Part 2)

Thinking of this, Qin Miao instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror.

In the rearview mirror, there was basically a line of cars. If Qin Miao chose to pit now, he would indeed come out to an open track, allowing him to set lap times.

However, this open window probably wouldn't be too large, so pitting now would be a loss. It's better to wait for the team's advice.

Lap 10, Norris finally caught up to Sainz ahead of him within the DRS zone.

It's worth mentioning that the time gap between Russell and Norris, which was originally 8 seconds, quickly shrank to 7 seconds after the two began to tussle.

According to the commentators, the best strategy for Sainz and Norris in front at this time is to take advantage while Russell is behind them, blocking Qin Miao and Hamilton, who pose a threat to their positions.

The two shouldn't attack each other, so as not to pressure each other, and strive to widen the gap from the drivers behind.

Once the gap with the rear drivers is significant enough, they can start competing for the race win.

But unfortunately, from Norris's actions, he didn't want to wait, perhaps thinking the 8-second gap was enough.

Meanwhile, Verstappen, starting from the back of the grid, had caught up to 13th place.

He seized the gap created between Leclerc and Leclerc's old teammate Vettel to pass Leclerc.

Starting from the back as well, Qin Miao knew that the cars behind him were relatively easy to overtake, but as time went on, the higher the position of the driver, the more challenging the overtaking.

Lap 12, a slight change appeared in the previously stable DRS train.

Perez behind overtook Alonso in front of him.

And as time passed, Alonso gradually began to fall behind the DRS train ahead.

So the DRS train, which had originally grown to 6 cars, reverted to 5 cars in lap 12.

A rather bored Qin Miao, conserving his tires, entered the state of Man and Car Unity, with his driving instincts taking control of half the car.

Strictly speaking, Qin Miao's current state was a bit like goofing off at work.

Lap 13, Norris finally overtook Sainz in front of him.

This feat primarily relied on DRS and a full release of ERS.

The overtaking took place in the DRS zone between T10 and T13.

There wasn't much to say about this overtake—just a standard outside line pass completed using DRS, leaving Sainz with no solution.

While still hoping that Qin Miao would have the chance to fight for the championship in this race, Bing, who was always entertained by the spectacle, smiled and said:

"Norris! Finally passed Sainz, if he maintains his current form, he's really going to win!"

"This race could be a historic moment for Norris, his first career Pole to win could be today!" Fei nodded in agreement.

Zhou Haoran glanced at the weather map of Sochi, Russia, and saw no rain clouds passing by.

Lap 14, Russell finally sounded the horn for a pit stop and tire change.

Russell changed from yellow to white and came out directly behind Gasly.

Without Russell's obstruction, Ricardo's speed did not change much; in fact, without DRS, Ricardo's speed was slightly slower.

Qin Miao was excited for a while after seeing Russell pit, thinking he would finally be free of this DRS train. But unfortunately, the fact proved that a DRS train had to run, only with a different leader.

Lap 15, after being overtaken by Norris, Sainz also chose to pit for a tire change.

Initially, Sainz's speed wasn't as fast as Norris's, and after being overtaken, Norris quickly pulled away, so pitting at this moment was also the right choice.

Sainz naturally rejoined ahead of Russell.

During this time, Qin Miao was also asked by the team whether to pit and change tires.

While Hamilton in front maintained his rhythm, Qin Miao tried twice but couldn't pose any threat to Hamilton's position.

Even when Qin Miao was charging his battery, Perez behind kept pressuring him.

Considering his options, Qin Miao chose to pit for hard tires on lap 17.

Actually, Qin Miao's pace on medium tires was still fast, but trapped in the DRS train, he couldn't exploit his tire advantage.

Additionally, the team had prepared two extra laps of fuel for him to sprint, but now, this fuel surplus became a burden rather than an advantage.

Therefore, Qin Miao felt there was no need to remain trapped here and should actively seek change.

The team also considered Qin Miao's tire conservation skills, leading some in the strategy group to suggest fitting soft tires.

However, this suggestion was ultimately not adopted, given that there were still 33 laps to go, and while the ending part of the race was expected to have rain, it wouldn't be heavy.

Even if the rain required a pit stop for tire change, Qin Miao's soft tires wouldn't last that long.

Therefore, switching to hard tires was the best choice for Qin Miao at this moment.

Returning with a 2.4-second stop for hard tires, Qin Miao rejoined just a second ahead of Russell.

Everyone knows that a car exiting the pit lane doesn't have tires at the right temperature for optimal performance, regardless of its performance potential.

Also, the pit lane exit at Sochi Autodrom is in the mid-to-late section of the starting straight.

Thus, even though Qin Miao had a one-second advantage over Russell, Russell took the position away from Qin Miao.

At the time, Russell, observing Qin Miao exiting the pit lane, didn't rely solely on speed for an outside overtake.

Instead, Russell settled behind Qin Miao, caught some slipstream, and then passed from the outside.

After taking a sip of Qin Miao's slipstream, Russell's natural faster exit speed ensured he overtook Qin Miao before the braking point at T2.

However, Qin Miao wasn't left behind.

After T2, he stayed within 1.5 seconds behind Russell.

Following Russell for a lap, Qin Miao's tire temperatures rose, naturally boosting his speed.

Both Qin Miao and Russell were on hard tires, but since Qin Miao had only done one lap on his, his tires inherently had slightly better grip than Russell's.

Lap 21, still at the same location, Qin Miao took a big sip of Russell's slipstream and benefitted from DRS after T1.

Despite Russell's immediate lane shift to the inside to compress Qin Miao's attack line, Qin Miao couldn't avoid it, so he changed lanes in the same direction.

Qin Miao ended up pushed to the edge of the track by Russell.

However, Qin Miao's speed was too fast, and reaching the track's edge, he no longer avoided Russell.

Russell, aware of the rules, though reluctant, did not push Qin Miao into the wall.

Finally, mirroring how Russell overtook him, Qin Miao completed his pass before the braking point at T2.

Notably, with drivers gradually pitting, Verstappen had climbed to fifth position.

Moreover, Verstappen was on hard tires, indicating he could run longer with significant tire life remaining.

Now, it was a matter of long-distance stability and speed.

Meanwhile, Hamilton was still improving his pace, maintaining his fastest lap on a 23-lap-old set of medium tires.

Hamilton faced no traffic ahead, with a 12-second gap to Norris, who was leading. This gap had formed thanks to Ricardo's train.

In other words, Hamilton could freely continue running at his most comfortable pace.