How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 755 - 309: A Blessing in Disguise

However, what Qin Miao didn't know was that while Mercedes was celebrating and feeling confident about Sunday's race, Toto had dialed the FIA's phone number.

Before Toto left his seat, the screen in front of him showed the public telemetry data of Verstappen's car during the time when Gasly's tire blew, causing a yellow flag.

It was pretty much showing data like throttle depth and braking force.

And Verstappen's telemetry data showed that during the yellow flag, Verstappen didn't even slow down, let alone ease the throttle off his car.

...

In the end, most drivers didn't complete their final flying lap in Q3 due to these two yellow flags, and the drivers behind never managed to improve their times.

Thus, the Q3 standings were frozen as follows.

1: Hamilton

2: Verstappen

3: Qin Miao

4: Gasly

5: Alonso

6: Norris

7: Sainz

8: Tsunoda

9: O'Kang

10: Vettel

...

After the qualifying session ended, Qin Miao spent the entire evening at the paddock, and only returned to the hotel after completing his post-race work.

Although there was some regret in Q3 of this qualifying session, starting in third position for the race is arguably a better choice compared to second.

Because Frankie once told Qin Miao that the outside racing line at Losail International Circuit is very dirty.

After all, this track was built in the desert, and the wind is very strong. Within ten minutes, the dirty side of the track would be filled with sand.

Moreover, before the F1 race starts, there are no support races on this track like F2 or Porsche Carrera Cup, it's just F1 running alone.

Hence, one can imagine how dirty the track actually is.

This means, at the start phase, as long as Qin Miao slightly outpaces Verstappen, he can leverage the cleaner inside line of the track to easily take down Verstappen.

But the next day, as soon as Qin Miao woke up and arrived at the paddock from the hotel and was having breakfast, he received some news that he wasn't sure if was good or bad.

Mercedes had reported to the FIA that Verstappen didn't comply with the rules set by the FIA during the race, that Verstappen didn't ease the throttle and slow down after a yellow flag appeared on his final flying lap in Q3, but instead continued his lap.

Mercedes requested the FIA to investigate this matter.

And Red Bull, upon knowing what Mercedes did, immediately launched a counterattack against Mercedes.

They also reported that Qin Miao had violated regulations during that stage yesterday too; he only eased the throttle and slowed down during the first yellow flag, but he didn't do so the second time.

The race stewards who received this complaint got a headache because the drivers involved this time are title contenders Qin Miao and Verstappen, and penalties regarding them must be handled with utmost caution.

Reportedly, the three race stewards of the FIA have been meeting for half a day and haven't come to a conclusion yet.

Qin Miao, who was originally watching the verbal fight between Mercedes and Red Bull from the side, found himself inexplicably dragged into it without knowing why.

However, Qin Miao at least knew that it was no use worrying at this point; it's best to stay calm. Even if the penalty really comes his way, there's still Verstappen next to him.

So, in the meantime, Qin Miao just rested in the lounge and prepared for the race.

Close to lunchtime, Qin Miao finally received the notice that both he and Verstappen would face grid penalties at the start of the race.

However, because Qin Miao slowed down once, his penalty was lighter, dropping three places on the grid, while Verstappen was penalized with a five-place drop.

So for the race today, Qin Miao's starting position fell from third to sixth, while Verstappen's dropped from second to seventh.

And then Qin Miao felt a bit frustrated. How did this shuffle around only to find himself starting on the dirty side?

Now the only consolation for Qin Miao might be that Verstappen, his biggest threat, is behind him.

Qin Miao still has a chance to maintain his lead on the points table in this race.

But defending against Verstappen isn't something Qin Miao must focus on; in this race, chasing Hamilton and narrowing the gap between him and Hamilton should be Qin Miao's biggest concern.