How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 695 - 292: Qin Miao Chases with DRS Like a Little Train (6K, Extra Update 12/20)

"Okay, our pace is quite good. If possible, try to conserve your tires; we want to extend this stint and then put you on new tires later."

Upon hearing the team's arrangement, Qin Miao was full of questions.

He didn't understand why the team arranged it this way.

But as mentioned before, since they adopted a two-stop strategy, Qin Miao didn't need to think much, just trust the team's judgment.

So without thinking, Qin Miao said, "Got it."

He didn't ask why or when to pit.

You could say that Qin Miao had already tossed out his own mind at this moment; all he could think about was racing, racing faster!

The team, after confirming Qin Miao received the message, started using simulator and data models to craft a new pit strategy for him based on his race and practice data.

On the 33rd lap, Qin Miao caught up to Leclerc, who was fourth ahead of him.

Don't be fooled by Qin Miao's impressive position, as the race was only 33 laps in, and he had climbed from the back to fifth.

However, at this time, the gap between Leclerc and Perez ahead of him was 11 seconds, and the gap between Perez and Verstappen was 21 seconds, and Verstappen was 15 seconds behind Hamilton, who hadn't pitted yet.

Despite Qin Miao being less than 2 seconds behind Leclerc, Leclerc had already completed two stops, while Qin Miao had only pitted once.

Taking into account Qin Miao's pit time, the gap between him and the leading Hamilton was nearly a minute.

Of course, Hamilton also hadn't pitted, having stopped only once like Qin Miao.

...

Because he needed to conserve the tires, even though he caught up with Leclerc ahead, Qin Miao had no intention of making a move.

After all, Qin Miao's car was on a set of hard tires that had run 19 laps, while Leclerc's was on a new set of hard tires.

Even if Leclerc's hard tires hadn't reached optimal working temperature yet, Qin Miao had no confidence in overtaking Leclerc on his worn tires.

So Qin Miao chose to honestly follow Leclerc closely, trying to slipstream if possible, and prepare to attack with DRS when feasible; if not, he'd quietly follow until the team gave him pit instructions.

Meanwhile, Leclerc was overjoyed.

Opportunities to keep Qin Miao behind weren't plentiful, and today was the perfect time!

Oh, you blocked me during simulator practice, huh? You're called the master of defense, huh? Your name is Qin Miao, huh?

Today, I'll let you feel what it's like to be completely blocked!

What? Taking advantage of tire superiority to bully people?

Then let Qin Miao pit for a tire change, I'm not stopping him.

Qin Miao indeed attempted to attack Leclerc, since his tires only lacked grip when exiting and entering corners, not critically affecting straight-line acceleration.

So Qin Miao tried to attack in the DRS zone, but as long as Leclerc secured the inside line in advance, Qin Miao had no solution.

Whether cornering or cross line, due to tire grip issues, Qin Miao couldn't accomplish an overtake.

On the contrary, several car battles between Qin Miao and Leclerc further deteriorated Qin Miao's tires.

The team promptly reminded Qin Miao, who eventually calmed down.

Seeing Qin Miao had no continuous attacking intentions, Leclerc felt less pressure, naturally focusing more on his speed.

However, the 11-second gap between Leclerc and Perez ahead wasn't easy to close.

In this race, Leclerc hadn't aimed for the podium; maintaining fourth seemed good enough to him.

On the 39th lap, Qin Miao's tires were nearing their limit, his speed gradually unable to keep up with Leclerc.

But the good news was that the gap between Qin Miao and Ricardo behind him kept widening, now at 16 seconds. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

This meant that if Qin Miao pitted, he wouldn't lose too many positions, and with the new set of medium tires, he'd have a speed advantage over those ahead.

On the 40th lap, Qin Miao finally heard the heavenly sound of: "Box, Qin Miao, box."

"Copy that!"

At this point, the director also broadcasted the conversation between Qin Miao and the team.

The scene then shifted, showing Qin Miao entering the pit lane.

Although the Mercedes team planned for Qin Miao to change tires at their pit stop notification, the Red Bull team speculated that Mercedes likely wanted to put Qin Miao on medium tires.

After all, switching to soft tires at that time would have been too early, and to hard tires too late, making medium tires the only barely suitable option.

But upon seeing the Mercedes mechanics holding medium tires, Red Bull started to get nervous.

Given Qin Miao's attacking capabilities, there was a chance he might climb several positions; if he reached a podium spot, it would be problematic…

"Qin Miao went for yellow tires during this pit stop?!" Even Zhou Haoran, the commentator, was surprised when he saw the tire in the Mercedes mechanic's hands.

Wang Yang said, "In this race, Qin Miao's set of white tires already ran 26 laps. Since Mercedes chose to let Qin Miao run such a long stint on white tires, they likely plan for Qin Miao to rely on a set of yellow tires to do more in the latter part of the race."