How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 782 - 318: Low Profile and Forbearance (6K, Debt Repayment 1/2)

Now the question arises, what specific penalty will Verstappen face for that illegal overtake after the red flag?

Will it be a time penalty, or will he be directly penalized by being demoted in starting position?

Meanwhile, Qin Miao was also unlucky, dropping from third to fourth.

On another note, Perez directly retired from the race.

Although only his front wing was knocked off during the collision, the team found that Perez's car's left front suspension was also damaged, probably bent or something, so the car couldn't be driven anymore.

Simultaneously, Mazepin also retired due to a car crash upfront. Russell braked, and Mazepin couldn't react in time and rear-ended Russell.

Like Perez, Mazepin retired, but both of Mazepin's front wheel suspensions broke on the spot.

The three drivers in the championship fight are all anxious. Verstappen's overtake after leading is definitely going to be penalized.

So, Verstappen's position now is false.

In addition, Hamilton also dropped to third because of Verstappen, from second.

Qin Miao was even worse off, dropping to fourth.

It's different from their starting positions.

Overall, the beginning of this race was really chaotic.

After the red flag, Qin Miao helplessly stopped his car once again in the pit lane.

Not long after Qin Miao got out, Toto immediately went to the FIA.

Hamilton followed closely behind and also went to the FIA. Only Qin Miao obediently sat on the curb beside his car, drinking water and staring blankly, lost in thought.

Soon, the FIA announced the penalty.

Verstappen was penalized with two starting positions, directly dropping behind Hamilton, starting third.

First is O'Kang, second is Hamilton, third is Verstappen, as for Qin Miao... fourth.

This penalty can be considered fair, after all, Verstappen cut the corner directly overtaking Hamilton. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Upon receiving this news, Qin Miao naturally contacted Toto through the team TR to appeal.

Unfortunately, the FIA had no intention of considering Qin Miao's appeal.

Qin Miao was heavily disadvantaged on the outside line, despite Verstappen braking late into the corner, aiming directly to rush out of the buffer zone.

But as Verstappen entered the corner, because of his late braking, his entire car had already gone ahead of Qin Miao's car, so Qin Miao was overtaken by Verstappen in the bend without violating any rules.

Upon receiving this news, Qin Miao was numb.

Though Toto also helped to appeal for Qin Miao, the stewards' treatment of the top three drivers was finalized, and the FIA was clearly not prepared to alter this decision.

Ultimately, Qin Miao could only reluctantly accept the decision.

After the penalty result was confirmed, another issue emerged, specifically, how Qin Miao should choose his tires for the upcoming race.

At the moment, Qin Miao still had a set of brand-new hard tires in reserve.

Qin Miao primarily didn't want to change tires. He wanted to use the speed advantage of the medium tires to ensure sufficient speed to overtake Hamilton and Verstappen in the upcoming race.

However, Qin Miao's set of medium tires could no longer withstand another starting consumption. According to Qin Miao's own estimation, if he continued to start with medium tires in the upcoming race, his speed would decline significantly in the latter part of the race.

Hence, after careful consideration, Qin Miao ultimately chose to change to a new set of hard tires.

Although the speed of hard tires is no match for medium tires, at least after changing to this set, Qin Miao wouldn't have to worry about tire wear in the upcoming race.

Perhaps this is also an opportunity.

For a long time afterwards, everyone waited for the red flag to end.

Qin Miao started eating again.

During the wait, the director gave Qin Miao quite a few shots, finding him eating again, not only the director but even viewers in front of TVs, commentators, and even live audiences were somewhat speechless.

Aren't you F1 drivers supposed to control your weight? Eating should be to ensure your physical fitness and hydration, etc. Whenever you have time, you start eating? Aren't you afraid you'll need the bathroom during the race?

15 minutes later, the race officials notified that the race was about to restart.

10 minutes later, Qin Miao and the others drove their cars back on the track, running a warm-up lap.

At this moment, naturally, O'Kang, trailing behind the safety car, was the happiest.

Due to one safety car and two red flags in this race, O'Kang fully capitalized on all possible gains, choosing the optimal decisions in every choice presented so far.

The only challenge ahead of him now is the start. If this start is perfect enough, O'Kang will have a significant advantage in this race.

In this race, at a minimum guaranteed fourth.

What? A podium?

It's indeed possible, but whether it's Qin Miao, Verstappen, or Hamilton, these individuals have sufficiently strong personal abilities in overtaking.

Despite O'Kang having the advantage of the terrain, Jeddah is a track where overtaking isn't easy, and O'Kang's defensive abilities aren't weak either, but it's really not an easy task to fend off the attacks of these three top drivers.