How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 787 - 319: Slaughter (6K, Debt Repayment 2/2)

Meanwhile, Verstappen remained silent.

[Although Verstappen is described as a ruthless racing machine, a ruthless racing machine is ultimately just a metaphor. Verstappen is human too, and he has moments of significant mistakes.

Right?

Besides, Verstappen was ahead of Hamilton when entering the corner, he had track position!]

This served as an excuse from Red Bull in the face of FIA's inquiry and Mercedes' fury.

Of course, though they said so, Red Bull was anxious as well. They could only try to help Verstappen get a lighter penalty from FIA for that overtaking maneuver.

But putting aside positions and looking from a purely spectator's perspective, Verstappen's defense was indeed a bit dirty this time.

Shortly after Hamilton's attack failed, he found himself 1.5 seconds behind Verstappen.

Now Mercedes was attacking on two fronts: having Hamilton chase Verstappen while applying pressure on Red Bull with the FIA.

And just on the same lap, during the long straight between T24 and T27 in lap 37,

FIA issued a penalty for Verstappen's mistake at Turn 1, requiring him to give the position back to Hamilton.

However, this news was not conveyed directly by FIA to Verstappen via the team radio but was passed through Red Bull, who then informed Verstappen.

And in this process, there was a slight issue with Red Bull's communication method.

Verstappen's race engineer told him: "Give the position back to Hamilton strategically."

This bluntly suggested to Verstappen that he should give the position back, according to the rules, but be cautious and set a trap for Hamilton.

Verstappen understood the team's intention, so he deliberately slowed down after passing T25, but did not make the racing line available for Hamilton.

According to FIA regulations, when giving a position back, the racing line should be ceded to the car behind, like a slow car yielding to a faster one.

But Verstappen did not do this, he just drove normally on the racing line and slowed his car down.

When Hamilton noticed Verstappen slowing down, he did not rush to overtake but also began to decelerate.

Because the entry to T27 ahead was the DRS detection point for the upcoming main straight.

Hamilton clearly understood Verstappen's tactic.

Verstappen simply intended to return the position before the DRS detection point, while Hamilton aimed to overtake Verstappen after passing the DRS detection point.

After their recent clash, both were a bit heated and subconsciously ignored another driver.

As both slowed down, Qin Miao, coming out of T23, began closing the gap to Hamilton, reducing it from 1.3 seconds to 1.1 seconds using Hamilton's slipstream.

Then Qin Miao suddenly saw the two cars in front slow down.

Qin Miao's position was crucial at this point.

He was at Hamilton's left rear, while Verstappen was at Hamilton's right front.

Most of Hamilton's attention was on Verstappen, and although Verstappen kept an eye on the rearview mirror, he only saw Hamilton's car.

Both of them, due to the sudden change before the DRS detection point, briefly ignored Qin Miao's presence behind them.

Despite Verstappen quickly realizing, within half a second, that there was a predatory Qin Miao behind Hamilton, his unexpected deceleration allowed Qin Miao to seize an advantage.

Once Verstappen saw Hamilton hadn't passed him, he immediately started to accelerate.

Hamilton also realized in the next instant that Qin Miao was lurking behind him.

However, Qin Miao had been racing conservatively this entire race, giving both Hamilton and Verstappen the false impression that his competitiveness was not on their level.

Engrossed in their duel, they instinctively overlooked Qin Miao's presence.

And when they came to their senses, they were left in despair as they saw Qin Miao speed by on the inside line, overtaking both of them.

And he sped towards the braking point at T27.

When Qin Miao reached the T27 braking point, Verstappen was truly filled with regret.

Damn it, am I an idiot?! How did I manage to forget about him!

Meanwhile, Hamilton was exceedingly angry inside: Damn Qin Miao! How did I just forget he was there?! How could I?!

Ahhhhh...!

Qin Miao's overtaking maneuver could only be described as a culmination of gradual buildup.

Without the patience before the race or the deliberate play-down of his presence since the start, Qin Miao wouldn't have had such a golden opportunity.

Of course, credit was due to Hamilton and Verstappen.

They genuinely gave Qin Miao a chance.

Such nice fellows, thought Qin Miao quietly after emerging from T27.

After seeing Qin Miao's move, the atmosphere at Mercedes was odd, with more than half cheering for Qin Miao's overtake while the rest remained eerily silent.