How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 736 - 305: Working Up a Sweat, Toto

This time, Verstappen had an unusual start.

The virtual safety car was just cancelled, and Verstappen immediately began to accelerate.

This move was so sudden that Qin Miao didn't even react at first.

As a result, by the time Qin Miao also started to speed up, he had been left 1.7 seconds behind Verstappen ahead of him.

Perez and Hamilton behind him were also pulled over 1.5 seconds away.

On the 17th lap, DRS was enabled, and after it was activated, the gap between Perez and Hamilton, originally 0.9 seconds, shrunk to 0.4 seconds after a long straight.

Lap 18, at the same spot, Hamilton began to truly launch an attack.

Seeing Hamilton's terrifying closing rate, Perez decisively switched to the inside line for defense.

However, Hamilton was too fast, and like Qin Miao, despite being on the outside, his late braking led to a better speed and angle entering the corner compared to Perez. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Then everyone saw Hamilton overtake Perez from the outside, moving into third place.

This was Hamilton's first genuine attack on Perez, and the first strike was successful, easily securing Perez's position.

After overtaking Perez, the driver ahead of Hamilton was Qin Miao.

Despite knowing that Hamilton would eventually catch up in this race, seeing his car in the rearview mirror, Qin Miao couldn't help but feel a bit of discomfort.

How could this old dog Hamilton be so fast?

What Qin Miao didn't know was that other drivers often had similar complaints when they saw him in their mirrors.

After inwardly complaining, Qin Miao started to feel a bit concerned.

Qin Miao was confident that once Hamilton was behind him, he could defend against Hamilton for a long time.

But during the time Hamilton was chasing drivers ahead, through Frankie, Qin Miao learned that Hamilton's lap speed was actually faster.

Now Qin Miao worries that once Hamilton is behind him, the team might issue orders for him to let Hamilton pass.

Although Qin Miao knew such a team order would be the right choice, knowing he might win the championship this season, he was unwilling to give up his position.

Fortunately, the team did not give him any such instruction.

Neither did Hamilton put pressure on the team through team radio.

Instead, when Hamilton got behind Qin Miao, he seemed eager to challenge.

Aren't you, Qin Miao, known as a genius? A master defender, tire management god.

With these titles, Hamilton also felt the pressure Qin Miao brought him.

In Hamilton's eyes, there was now an opportunity to sweep away all this pressure.

That opportunity was to beat his teammate Qin Miao on the track.

The logic is simple: no matter how strong or talented a teammate is, once you beat him, his strengths and talents just become your backdrop.

Moreover, the Interlagos track is conducive for overtaking, and Hamilton's car had a new internal combustion engine, so he wasn't worried about Qin Miao's defensive skills hindering his overtaking.

Hamilton had been disgruntled as Qin Miao and Verstappen had been leading in the drivers' standings, and now was a perfect chance to prove he was still at his peak by overtaking his teammate. I am a seven-time champion, not someone a rookie can casually outmaneuver.

On the 22nd lap, after passing the second DRS zone, Hamilton entered the DRS zone behind his teammate.

The two then reached T11, and with both having run 22 laps on their tires, a clear difference emerged exiting T11.

Qin Miao, at the front, had a clearly faster exit speed than Hamilton.

But being fast on the exit was useless because, over time, down the straight, Hamilton used Qin Miao's slipstream to gradually close in.

On the starting straight, Hamilton, with DRS activated, was drawing closer to Qin Miao after passing T15, using his slipstream.

Qin Miao followed his heart's desire; since it wasn't yet a braking point, Qin Miao could execute defensive maneuvers.

Seeing Hamilton behind him, Qin Miao moved to the inside line.

Seeing this, Hamilton naturally kept closely behind him.

Seeing this, Qin Miao then moved onto the racing line.

The two weaved twice in this manner.

Yet with each maneuver, the distance between them decreased.

However, before they reached the T1 braking point, Qin Miao chose to block Hamilton's optimal path on the inside line.

Both simultaneously opted to brake late, having missed the braking point.

It was here that the difference in individual abilities during braking was evident.

Due to his position on the track, Qin Miao had less grip than Hamilton, and the T1 at Interlagos is a downhill left turn, causing the car's right front wheel to bear less load than the left front wheel.

While braking, because Qin Miao had to constantly watch Hamilton, his braking force might only have been 100 grams more.