How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 785 - 318: Low Profile and Forbearance (6K, Debt Repayment 1/2)

Although Hamilton ahead of me is using the same hard tires as I am, Verstappen ahead of Hamilton is using medium tires.

Moreover, since the moment Hamilton appeared behind Verstappen in this race, he has been applying pressure on Verstappen, effectively pushing him throughout the race.

The consequence is that after the second red flag restart, Verstappen hasn't had a single lap to protect his medium tire set; it's all been about pushing to the limit.

Therefore, Qin Miao knows that Verstappen's set of tires cannot last too long; they will inevitably hit the cliff point before the race ends, causing the grip to start significantly declining.

So in this race, Qin Miao continues to follow Hamilton steadily, maintaining his pace without rushing, achieving a stable and steady performance.

It's worth mentioning that because Qin Miao, trailing Hamilton, has not shown any aggression, by this stage of the race, Hamilton is no longer focusing on Qin Miao as much as he did when Qin Miao first started following him while attacking Verstappen.

Most of Hamilton's attention is now on Verstappen.

Regarding Qin Miao behind, Hamilton knows that his speed is only slightly faster than Verstappen's, so Qin Miao can keep up with Hamilton's pace since he's also behind Verstappen. However, Hamilton now doesn't think Qin Miao can surpass him in this race.

Lap 36, with 14 laps remaining until the end, Verstappen's medium tire set is showing signs of wear.

Having been chased by Hamilton for so long, it's quite normal for the tires to begin to struggle at this stage.

Thus, at the T22 DRS detection point, Hamilton is within a second behind Verstappen, allowing him to activate DRS in the DRS zone between T24 and T27.

Meanwhile, Qin Miao remains steady, maintaining a constant 1.5-second gap.

Watching Hamilton suddenly activate DRS, Qin Miao knows that Hamilton's attack on Verstappen has officially begun, and his own opportunity in this race is about to appear.

So although Qin Miao does not have DRS, he opens up his ERS and rich fuel mode, beginning an all-out push.

He aims to utilize Hamilton's slipstream and DRS on the main straight.

It turns out that Qin Miao's decision to consistently charge his car's battery was the right choice.

Because for a long stretch, Qin Miao didn't have significant speed needs, allowing his car's battery power to remain at a 91% level.

It's not at 100% because this B battery has lifespan considerations; keeping the battery fully charged leads to strain, naturally reducing power reserve levels and durability.

The optimal battery level should be maintained around 85%, with Qin Miao's 91% being a bit high.

Frankie has reminded Qin Miao more than once: "If possible, use more of the battery's power; keeping it unused doesn't help."

Then, at the crucial moment, Qin Miao directly adjusted the car's battery discharge mode to the extreme mode.

The discharge rate in this mode is even more aggressive than in qualifying.

The battery mode for qualifying requires the car to use up all the battery's power and the energy recycled by MGU-K and MGU-H during the qualifying period in exactly one lap.

In qualifiers, extra battery power is wasted, while less is too slow.

But this mode is different; it aims to use all stored battery power in the shortest time possible.

As a result, you could see that after Hamilton's speed increased with Verstappen's DRS, Qin Miao behind him also began to speed up significantly.

Qin Miao's speed, at one point, was even faster than Hamilton's with DRS. It truly shows the strength of the Mercedes engine.