How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 672 - 285: Rainy Turkey Grand Prix

The national anthem and oath ceremony before the race for the twenty drivers was also accompanied by rain.

But the rain wasn't heavy; it was a drizzle that would take two to three minutes to soak your clothes if you stood in it without an umbrella.

Nevertheless, during the preparation phase, all the drivers switched to intermediate tires.

After all, with even a little water on the track, Norris from the last Russian Grand Prix could tell you how slippery the track is.

Before the start of the race, Qin Miao's feelings were somewhat mixed; on one hand, he was happy that Hamilton would find it difficult to catch up with him under rainy conditions.

Qin Miao didn't even need to do anything; the four Red Bull drivers behind him wouldn't let Hamilton catch up so easily.

On the other hand, he was worried about not performing well in this rain.

After all, right behind him was Verstappen, and with their positions on the points table, Verstappen would surely attack Qin Miao relentlessly in this race.

However, once Qin Miao sat in his car, the worries in his mind quickly disappeared.

There were things Qin Miao couldn't control, but he knew that to achieve a satisfying result on this track, he only needed to focus on doing everything he could.

After some preparation, Reyes briefed Qin Miao again on the track's weather conditions, wind direction, and some details Qin needed to be aware of.

After running Reyes' words through his mind, Qin Miao gave him a thumbs up, indicating he understood.

Subsequently, the engineers from all the teams retreated to the sides of the track, and the race was about to begin.

As the two green lights lit up, Qin Miao drove his car away from his grid position.

Due to the accumulation of rainwater, as soon as Qin Miao started running, the spray from his rear wheels already began to affect Verstappen's visibility behind him.

Moreover, shortly after starting, Qin Miao received another piece of news from his team that was uncertain whether it was good or bad.

"Qin Miao, according to the meteorological department's forecast, this rain is likely to last the entire race," Frankie's voice carried a hint of worry.

"Understood," Qin Miao replied.

However, at that moment, Qin Miao didn't share Frankie's concern.

No matter how conflicted Qin Miao felt before the race, once he sat in the cockpit, all his negative emotions were replaced by a sense of security.

It was as if he returned to his mother's embrace, his childhood swaddle.

With unwavering focus, Qin Miao completed the warm-up lap of the Turkish Grand Prix and stopped at his position.

As the pursuing cars behind got into position.

Five red lights lit up and then went out.

At the moment the five red lights went out, Qin Miao launched into a start.

Surprisingly, under the rain, Qin Miao's start was unexpectedly good.

To his left rear, Verstappen's start was mediocre, while Leclerc behind him had a slightly better start than Verstappen but couldn't match Qin Miao's speed.

Therefore, after the start, Qin Miao didn't feel too much pressure and moved forward towards T1, occasionally checking his mirrors to ensure the positions of the two drivers who threatened him behind. Most of his attention was on the track in front of him.

Thanks to his focus on the track, Qin Miao managed to quickly widen the time gap with Verstappen behind him after the first timed sector.

"Great start, keep it up," Frankie encouraged over the radio after the start.

"Roger, keep monitoring the weather conditions for me," Qin Miao replied with a reminder. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I'll notify you first thing if anything changes," Frankie responded.

Although it was uncertain if the Red Bull cars behind encountered any issues, after the start, Qin Miao felt that Verstappen's speed was noticeably slower than his own.

So, within just one lap, Qin Miao, pushing with full force, extended the gap with Verstappen behind him to over one second.

However, in Qin Miao's view, a one-second gap wasn't enough cushion, so he continued to push and extend the gap with Verstappen.

After the first lap, the time gap between Qin Miao and Verstappen stretched to 1.2 seconds.

Without any interference, Qin Miao's rain combat ability was adequate; after all, he was boosted by the system. At least, his lap speed wasn't too slow.

Meanwhile, Hamilton had moved up to ninth, gaining two positions at the start.

Hamilton overtook two drivers: Alonso and Vettel.

Alonso collided with Gasly after exiting Turn 1 during the start phase, causing his car to slide off the track and spin 360 degrees.

This collision was deemed entirely Gasly's fault, and after an FIA investigation, he was penalized five seconds.

However, compared to Alonso, this penalty wasn't too harsh.

Readers familiar with F1 know that when a Formula 1 car slides or goes off track at the start, the positions fall rapidly.

By the time Alonso got his car back on track, he had fallen from fifth to eighteenth.