How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 656 - 280: Norris-Brand Milky Torpedo (6K, Bonus 5/20)

Although Norris's position hasn't changed much, due to this mistake, Norris, who was running quite comfortably on the track, now feels immense pressure.

In lap 48, Qin Miao's speed had a noticeable drop. Originally trailing Hamilton by around 1.8 seconds, the gap has now widened to 2.1 seconds due to the track's rain issues.

After lap 48, Qin Miao immediately said in the team TR, "I don't care, I'm going to pit the next lap."

Although there is rain on the track, it's only falling at corners T4, T5, T6, and T7. The conditions in the first and third sectors haven't deteriorated.

Yet Qin Miao still wanted to pit after this lap ends.

He lost too much speed in these corners, he needs to pit.

The team saw Qin Miao's determination and had no reason to refuse.

After receiving notification from Frankie, all technicians got up from their spots and took out a new set of intermediate tires from the rack where Qin Miao's tires are stored.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Qin Miao was so adamant about pitting at this time, but the team was quite happy that Qin Miao was pitting now.

Because Qin Miao's early pit stop would provide Hamilton with a reference; specifically, seeing under current track conditions what speed could be achieved using intermediate tires.

If Qin Miao's speed on intermediate tires matches the speed Hamilton and others achieve on hard tires, the team might call Hamilton to pit the next lap to change to intermediate tires as well.

After Qin Miao notified the team, Hamilton's track engineer also informed him in team TR about Qin Miao's situation and asked whether he wanted to pit like Qin Miao.

At this moment, Hamilton wasn't thinking much, as he was still embroiled with Norris, constantly pressuring him. Upon hearing the team's question, he responded without thinking, "No need."

When Norris arrived at the second sector of lap 48, the TV broadcast clearly showed gray rain falling.

Similarly, at the second sector's T5, Norris once again went off the track but returned safely yet again.

Due to the intensified rain in the second sector, Hamilton slightly slowed down.

So, despite Norris going off the track at the same place, the gap between Hamilton and Norris didn't shorten. Instead, because Hamilton slowed down, it stretched to 2.5 seconds.

As for Qin Miao, it's even more significant. The gap between him and Hamilton has grown to 3 seconds.

Moreover, it's foreseeable that if Qin Miao continues on track, he would be pulled even further away by Hamilton.

At the end of lap 48, Qin Miao finally pitted, while Norris and Hamilton stayed out.

Qin Miao's issue is personal; in rainy conditions, he can't drive fast on dry tires.

As seen from the second sector just now, although Norris and Hamilton's speed slowed somewhat, Qin Miao was still pulled away by almost a second in just one lap, which is apparent.

Moreover, before finishing this lap, Hamilton mentioned in team TR that despite rain on the track, without standing water, grip on the track hasn't severely deteriorated.

Thus, both drivers had no intentions of pitting but continued battling on track for their championship podium.

In lap 49, the rain gradually intensified.

Due to his previously built-up speed advantage, after exiting the pits, Qin Miao was surrounded by slow cars, yet his ranking remained third, unchanged. The driver behind him was Perez, who was a full 21 seconds behind Qin Miao.

So, at this point, Qin Miao didn't need to consider anything else, just focus on finishing the race, and hope that Hamilton and Norris might encounter issues due to heavy rain.

Of course, Qin Miao started to have doubts now; could Hamilton and Norris really run the whole race on dry tires?

If so... what about his position?

At the end of lap 49, the rain got heavier; half the track was raining, and in the second sector, the rain escalated from light to moderate.

Norris's track engineer asked him in team TR, "Lando, do you want to change to intermediate tires?"

At this moment, Norris was controlling his slippery car while keeping a close eye on Hamilton behind him, ensuring he wouldn't overtake, thereby tightening his mental focus.

This sudden question in team TR startled him, so he loudly replied in TR, "NO!"

Clearly, the lure of the championship and the pressure from Hamilton behind him weighed heavily on Norris.

Despite this, he still held his own judgment and thoughts.

Gifted in rain battles, Norris felt the current rain was under control.

Norris believed he could continue on dry tires to finish the whole race, as there were only 4 laps left in the race.

Moreover, although rain was falling on the track, it wasn't uncontrollable, and some corners with previous rain had already cleared.

This discovery gave Norris some confidence, strengthening his determination to finish the race on hard tires.