How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 730 - 302: The Sprint Race Win Secured Ahead of Time

Ten minutes later, the staff on the track received a notification from the race committee and withdrew from the track.

The soft tires used by Qin Miao were also revealed.

Westerners like to label people, and after last week's race in Mexico, the two most prominent labels on Qin Miao are defense and tire preservation.

So no one is worried about Qin Miao's tire condition as he starts on soft tires.

At the last corner of the warm-up lap, Verstappen was slowly moving ahead, with Qin Miao four car lengths behind him, driving even slower than Verstappen.

This was deliberate by Qin Miao, intending to cool Verstappen's car tires faster.

Blocking the car? My friend, I'm doing it even more extremely than you.

Because there's a regulated speed for the warm-up lap, even though Qin Miao pushed the limits, he didn't go below the regulated speed.

After Verstappen saw the distance between him and Qin Miao, he felt a bit disgusted, but there was nothing he could do after the corner as Qin Miao set him up, deliberately slowing down when Verstappen needed to observe the track cornering.

Ultimately, Verstappen maintained a constant speed and stopped his car on the starting grid.

Qin Miao stopped in his position more than three seconds later.

In those three seconds, as soon as Qin Miao stopped, his tire temperature was about 3° higher than Verstappen's.

Even though both Mercedes and Red Bull had heated the track at their starting positions, this 3° difference could be decisive for the start.

The only comfort for Verstappen was that he was using medium tires, which cool down a bit slower than the soft tires Qin Miao was using. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Half a minute later, the drivers behind them gradually stopped their cars at their positions.

After all the cars were stopped, the medical car was in position at the back of the track, the green flag waved, and the race was about to begin.

...

The five red lights went on and off — the race started!

Qin Miao's reaction time at the start was about the same as Verstappen's, both reacting approximately 0.2 seconds after the lights went out, then began accelerating.

At this critical moment, the advantage of Qin Miao's soft tires became evident.

After the start, Qin Miao on soft tires could throttle more than Verstappen on medium tires, leading to more engine output and quicker acceleration for Qin Miao.

Moreover, the second starting position on the Interlagos track was on the inner line, so as they reached T1, Qin Miao maneuvered on Verstappen's inner line, leaving Verstappen with no solution.

Seeing Qin Miao hold the inner line, Verstappen did not intend to give up his position, choosing to go wheel-to-wheel with Qin Miao into T1.

Qin Miao remembered the team's pre-race reminders, so when Verstappen forcefully squeezed in, Qin Miao did not compress Verstappen's racing line into the corner; otherwise, Qin Miao would have surely forced Verstappen off track.

Instead, he left enough room for Verstappen to exit the corner.

Approaching T3, Qin Miao had to not only watch Verstappen's position but also control his braking, as slightly heavier braking downhill could cause the tires to lock up.

But after T2, Qin Miao noticed that Verstappen did not close the gap, and after exiting T3, Verstappen fell behind Qin Miao.

This was no surprise to Qin Miao, as he was on soft tires while Verstappen was on mediums; the speed advantage of soft tires in consecutive turns was expected.

From this point, Qin Miao's race was effectively concluded.

Although overtaking on the Brazilian Interlagos track is relatively easy, Qin Miao felt confident in his ability to fend off overtakes from the drivers behind him.

Furthermore, by the second lap, Qin Miao had extended his lead over Verstappen by more than a second, opening up a DRS gap, significantly reducing Verstappen's threat.

Verstappen desperately wanted to keep up with Qin Miao, as Qin Miao only led Verstappen by 8 points in the overall standings.

Although the 3 points from this sprint qualifying race were not substantial, winning it could alleviate some pressure for Verstappen.

Conversely, a loss for Qin Miao and Mercedes would certainly have certain repercussions.

However, Qin Miao's soft tire speed was a little too fast.

If it were any other driver, even with the same points contention, Verstappen wouldn't feel so powerless.

In a hundred-kilometer sprint race, it would be challenging for other drivers to complete the race on soft tires; even if they did, their speed would decrease significantly afterward.

But Qin Miao was different; his car's tires seemed to be enchanted, lasting many more laps than others' tires.

So Verstappen had no doubt that Qin Miao could finish the entire sprint qualifying race on these soft tires, and Verstappen also knew that tire wear for Qin Miao wouldn't be severe after the race.

Not long after Qin Miao crossed the line on the second lap, good news came from behind.

Starting fifth, Sainz had an exceptionally bright start, moving up to third place right after the start.