How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 754 - 309: A Blessing in Disguise

The reason Perez appeared on the elimination list is mainly that he didn't perform well on his first flying lap in Q2.

However, neither Red Bull nor Perez showed any signs of tension at this point.

Because both knew that given the car's performance and Perez's ability, as long as there wasn't a major mistake on the last flying lap, making it to Q3 was a sure thing.

But sometimes when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth. As Perez started his last flying lap, he encountered slow cars ahead, which directly caused him to miss his final lap.

Perez didn't cross the line to start his final flying lap before the clock stopped.

Therefore, Perez was ultimately eliminated in Q2.

Of course, this was undoubtedly good news for Mercedes, as it meant one less Red Bull in the way during tomorrow's race, allowing Qin Miao and Hamilton to have an easier time.

Of course, there's also the possibility that Qin Miao and Hamilton might clash on the track, allowing Verstappen to swoop in and take advantage at the end.

On the track, Qin Miao started pushing hard on his first flying lap in Q3.

After his lap, Qin Miao's result dispelled his previous gloom, immediately putting him in first place with a time of 1:21.211.

Qin Miao's lap time was 0.1 seconds faster than his teammate Hamilton.

"I told you so! Qin Miao definitely had something in reserve for Q1 and Q2!" After Qin Miao's lap, the commentators from Five-Star Sports were delighted.

"Actually, that's not quite right. The speed in those laps from Qin Miao was likely his fastest, but it seemed his ranking wasn't high mainly because he was using old tires."

"Anyway, I think it doesn't matter as long as Qin Miao's performance in this race is impressive."

...

On the circuit, after learning about Qin Miao's speed, Hamilton was somewhat surprised and asked over the team radio: "How did Qin Miao suddenly get so fast?"

"Lewis, focus on the race."

After a short break, the second flying lap of Q3 began, marking the final lap of the race.

Hamilton, coming out first, responded to his teammate Qin Miao by setting three purple sectors with a time of 1:20.827, directly 0.3 seconds faster than Qin Miao.

Looking at this result and recalling what Hamilton said after seeing Qin Miao's speed, it seemed somewhat humorous.

Qin Miao started his final flying lap after Hamilton.

However, just as Qin Miao completed his first timing sector, he saw a yellow flag on his steering wheel.

Even though the yellow flag appeared in the third sector, according to the rules, Qin Miao was still required to slow down. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

This meant that Qin Miao's last flying lap was ruined by the yellow flag.

But soon, the yellow flag was lifted, and its duration wasn't that long, just over a second, so Qin Miao felt his speed loss wasn't too significant.

So after the yellow flag was canceled, Qin Miao began to speed up again, preparing to complete this lap.

However, just as Qin Miao started accelerating, another yellow flag appeared less than five seconds after the first was lifted, and this time Qin Miao didn't react in time because it also turned green in just a second.

These two brief yellow flags significantly disrupted Qin Miao's race rhythm, causing him to lose 0.3 seconds in the second sector alone, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make up the lost time in the final sector.

So in the end, Qin Miao couldn't break his fastest Q3 time.

However, bad things often come in succession. After Qin Miao, Verstappen crossed the finish line and improved his lap time to 1:21.123.

As a result, Qin Miao's position was pushed down to third by Verstappen.

But viewing it from another angle, third place isn't much worse than second.

After the qualifying session, the atmosphere within the Red Bull team was somewhat gloomy.

The time gap between Hamilton and Verstappen was unexpectedly large, a massive 0.3-second difference, which surprised everyone at Red Bull before the race.

Compared to last week's Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton's result improved rather dramatically, catching everyone at Red Bull off guard.

During this critical championship-contending period, Hamilton's sudden performance boost was a heavy blow to the internal morale of the Red Bull team.

So, when the qualifying session ended and the broadcast camera focused on Red Bull, no one was celebrating; everyone wore grim expressions.

In contrast, at Mercedes, although missing out on second place was slightly disappointing, everyone knew Qin Miao not getting second wasn't due to a lack of skill, but because Gasly's tire conservation strategy played him.

After the session, it was evident that the atmosphere among Mercedes team members was relaxed, and smiles could be seen all around.

In Hamilton's team radio, his race engineer was also heard praising Hamilton.

Hamilton, as always, expressed gratitude to his team members, painting a harmonious picture.

As for Qin Miao... knowing he only secured third place, he could only helplessly sigh, "It's all about timing and fate."