How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 778 - 316: Unexpected Yellow Flag

After the F2 race ended, the team of Matthew and others cleaned up the tire rubber on the track a bit, and after all the F2 teams withdrew their gear, the F1 race was about to begin.

When Qin Miao appeared on the broadcast again, he had already changed into his racing suit, sitting by the trackside barrier waiting for the race to start.

Qin Miao was not sitting by the track alone; Leclerc was also sitting with him in the same manner.

From time to time, the two would chat a bit, and judging from their expressions, the conversation seemed pleasant.

After another twenty minutes, Qin Miao bid farewell to Leclerc and returned to his car.

By this time, the track engineers were gradually withdrawing.

After connecting all the equipment, Qin Miao heard Frankie's final words of advice through the TR: "Today's air temperature is 27 degrees; track temperature is 30 degrees, slightly lower than yesterday. Pay attention to tire temperature in the late race, a 3M/s North wind, it's impactful but not significantly. Just be mindful going through T13 and T27."

"Okay," Qin Miao responded with a single word after Frankie's lengthy talk, which was their usual way of communicating.

Quickly, all the staff on the track withdrew.

Qin Miao and the others began the pace lap.

Mercedes encountered issues with slow tire warming this race, something that was more severe during yesterday's qualifying session.

Thus, during the pace lap phase, it was obvious that Qin Miao and Hamilton created significant swerving movement with their cars before the race started.

Two minutes later, as all the track workers had withdrawn, Qin Miao and the others returned to their respective grid positions.

With Mazepin parking his car, the medical car positioning at the rear, the green flag waving, and all five red lights began illuminating one by one.

Qin Miao slowly increased the engine revs while glancing at Hamilton to the right front and checking his mirrors for Verstappen behind him.

These two were his biggest competitors in this race, and whether he could start well related directly to the final result of the race.

All five red lights illuminated.

Qin Miao kept the car engine revs at the perfect spot and pressed the clutch button, waiting for the lights to go out.

"All five red lights are out! The race is on!"

As soon as the five red lights went out, Qin Miao released his finger on the clutch, and the car shot forward.

"Qin Miao! That was an excellent start by Qin Miao!"

"Speed noticeably faster than Hamilton's, fortunately Qin Miao's starting position was at the inside line. Could he surpass Hamilton after the start?"

Over at Five-Star Sports, the commentators were discussing the potential if Qin Miao started well.

But now, the scene in front of them made them instantly forget what they just said, leaving only one thought, that Qin Miao should go faster, just a bit faster, and surpass Hamilton!

And on the track, Qin Miao indeed started better than Hamilton.

Although Jeddah Circuit had many full throttle sections, there was not much room left for overtaking.

Moreover, the distance from the grid to the braking point at T1 wasn't long, so Qin Miao couldn't overtake Hamilton in this section, nor even drive alongside him.

Only aligning the front right tire with Hamilton's rear left tire.

At this position, Qin Miao lacked a line advantage while entering the corner.

And it seemed Hamilton, while leaving some space for Qin Miao to exit the corner, showed no intention of surrendering his position.

If further intruded, a collision was inevitable, so ultimately Qin Miao opted to return the position to Hamilton while exiting the corner.

This was Qin Miao's proactive retreat, ensuring a certain controllability within it.

As they approached T1, Qin Miao gave no opportunity for Verstappen behind him to launch an attack.

After the start, the top three drivers did not make any excessively aggressive moves or change positions, all entering T1 smoothly.

The smooth start at Jeddah Circuit was unexpected for everyone. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Ah, such a pity. Qin Miao's start was indeed good but not good enough. When he realized he didn't have enough space entering the corner, he eased off the throttle," Bing explained with regret.

Fei added, "Actually, Qin Miao made the right choice. What he needs now is to wait for an opportunity, possibly an error from Hamilton or Verstappen. So, protecting himself and his car is his urgent priority."

…

During the time the commentators from Five-Star Sports were chatting, Qin Miao and the others had completed the entire first timed segment.

Truth be told, Qin Miao felt a bit frustrated for not seizing that starting opportunity.

But with Verstappen behind him, Qin Miao dared not engage in overly aggressive driving against Hamilton.

If they became entangled with each other, and Verstappen charged forward, it was a scenario both Qin Miao and Hamilton wanted to avoid.