How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 693 - 291: Red Bull’s DRS Train Tactics 2

After overtaking Giovinazzi, the driver in front of Qin Miao became Gasly, and ahead of Gasly was Tsunoda.

The two Red Bull drivers were just blocking Qin Miao's path.

Considering the team these two drivers are from, it was no surprise that they would desperately block Qin Miao's attack in this race.

Soon, facts proved Qin Miao's suspicion correct.

As Qin Miao got behind Gasly, Tsunoda, who had originally been running his own pace two seconds ahead of Gasly, started to slow down.

Although Qin Miao wasn't the first witness, seeing Gasly and Tsunoda working together, he roughly guessed what had just happened.

Marco made a call to the Red Bull team leader Tost.

Then Tost openly requested over the team radio for Tsunoda to slow down, providing Gasly with DRS and slipstream, to stop Qin Miao's attack.

Having experienced the DRS train before, Qin Miao naturally knew just how disgusting this DRS train thing really was.

Even if the one leading the DRS train was an Alfa Romeo, it would still be difficult for Qin Miao to overtake the car ahead of him.

But slowing down was much faster than Qin Miao catching up to Gasly ahead.

So just as Qin Miao overtook Giovinazzi and was about to release all the reserved power from his car,

Yuki Tsunoda appeared in front of Gasly.

The Red Bull DRS train was set up,

Qin Miao: Damn Japanese.

Alright, alright.

This is how you're going to play, huh?

Qin Miao held his patience and stayed behind Gasly in the DRS zone, recharging his car's battery for three laps.

By the time Qin Miao's battery was fully charged, the race had reached the thirteenth lap.

Many drivers planning for a two-stop strategy chose to pit and change tires at this point.

Actually, Tsunoda had also initially planned for two stops, but because of Qin Miao's presence, he had to stay out on track.

Helping Verstappen and the others hold off Qin Miao.

But Qin Miao definitely wouldn't let himself be captured like this, so after the battery was full, Qin Miao directly switched to his car's qualifying mode.

In this mode, Qin Miao's car would use up 100% of his stored electrical power in one lap.

Qin Miao was taking a complete gamble,

but unfortunately, besides the DRS zones, there were not many places to overtake on the American track.

Qin Miao tried to pull out several times, but because Gasly also had DRS, he ended up dealing with double turbulence after pulling out, unable to pick up speed.

Both times in the DRS zone, he fell short just before the braking point.

In the end, Qin Miao's attempt failed.

Returning to the DRS zone behind Gasly, Qin Miao felt a bit lost, so he asked over the team radio, "What should I do? Should I keep running on track?"

At that moment, Tsunoda's tires were severely worn. Initially, he was running a two-stop strategy, so at the start of the race, Tsunoda hadn't conserved his soft tires at all, resulting in a significant drop in grip now, dragging down his speed.

Qin Miao watched as the time gap between Tsunoda and Norris ahead widened from 5 seconds to 8 seconds, and now it was racing towards a 10-second gap.

It was truly frustrating to watch.

So Qin Miao sought external help over the team radio.

The team had already noticed Qin Miao's predicament and the strategy group immediately began discussing and formulating tactics.

Actually, by the twelfth lap, the team already had a new strategy, but they saw that for three laps, Qin Miao had been trying to charge his car's battery, and they naturally guessed what Qin Miao wanted to do.

After all, the new strategy would still result in a significant loss to Qin Miao's speed, so they also hoped Qin Miao's attack would succeed.

They didn't tell Qin Miao about the new strategy right away, but instead waited until this attempt failed before informing him.

However, they didn't expect Qin Miao to speak first.

"If you're sure you can't overtake Gasly and Tsunoda, we suggest using a two-stop strategy," said Frankie.

Qin Miao thought for a bit; before the race, they hadn't even considered a two-stop strategy, but given the current situation, two stops wouldn't be impossible.

It's just that a mid-race tactical change meant that Qin Miao wasn't prepared at all for the new strategy; he would have no idea when to pit, relying entirely on the team's reminders.

But at that point, Qin Miao had no better options.

Looking at the two Red Bulls playing train in front of him, Qin Miao ultimately chose to trust the team's strategic judgment.

"Alright, two stops. When do I pit?"

"Next lap."

"Copy."

After deciding on the new strategy, Qin Miao started charging again.

There was no choice; under the current circumstances, all Qin Miao could do was charge his car's battery.

On the fourteenth lap, Qin Miao chose to pit for a tire change.

Entering the pits, he changed to the white tires, with a tire change time of 2.4 seconds, which wasn't bad.

After coming out, he was in fourteenth position, behind Mick. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

At that moment, the time gap between Qin Miao and Mick ahead was only 3 seconds, and there wasn't much clean air in front of Qin Miao.

But being three seconds behind Mick was better than being stuck in the Red Bull DRS train.

"Alright, Qin Miao, this out-lap is very important. The Red Bull drivers might also pit in the next lap, so give it your all."

"Okay."

After replying, Qin Miao began to push with full force.

Although 3 seconds wasn't a long time, it was at least some clean air.

Moreover, on the fifteenth lap, Yuki Tsunoda did pit.

But the Red Bull crew helped Qin Miao; Tsunoda's tire change took 3.4 seconds because the right rear wheel bolt wasn't removed immediately.

As a result, when Tsunoda rejoined the track, he was bewildered to find himself behind Qin Miao.

Originally, there was still Gasly between him and Qin Miao, but one pit stop landed him directly behind Qin Miao.

With Lord's personality, he was naturally having a fit over the team radio at that moment.

But if all the things Lord said over the team radio were broadcasted, basically, you wouldn't hear anything, just a bunch of censored beeping sounds.

At that point, the Red Bull DRS train had been shattered by Mercedes' pit stop.

Actually, if Qin Miao hadn't pitted, Yuki Tsunoda's tires wouldn't have lasted two more laps.

But by then, the Red Bull had already completed its mission.

The race continued, and Qin Miao began his swift pursuit once more.

Shortly after Tsunoda re-entered, Qin Miao overtook Mick ahead of him, arriving behind Stroll.

This was also the window for other drivers to pit, so the standings on track were constantly changing.

At that point, only the two Aston Martin drivers hadn't pitted yet.

And Qin Miao now found himself right behind the two Aston Martin drivers.

On the seventeenth lap, Qin Miao overtook Stroll, whose tire grip had significantly decreased.

This overtake was nothing extraordinary and didn't even happen in the DRS zone; it was just a late-braking move on the inside at Turn 11.

After overtaking Stroll, Qin Miao intended to recharge his car while chasing Vettel ahead.

But on the eighteenth lap, Vettel opted to pit for a tire change.

Qin Miao moved up to eighth place.

Qin Miao found himself back to where he should be.

Now, the driver appearing ahead of Qin Miao was Norris, and the drivers ahead of Norris were Sainz, Ricardo, Leclerc, Perez, Verstappen, and Hamilton.

The easy mode of this race was completed by Qin Miao in eighteen laps, leaving thirty-eight more laps.

In Qin Miao's eyes, those thirty-eight laps would switch to a hard mode.

However, not only did Qin Miao not feel nervous, but he was also a bit excited.

The feeling of wheel-to-wheel combat on track with drivers of his level and eventually defeating them was exhilarating.