How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 821 - 331: Dust Settles (Part 2)

Just when the audience on-site thought the race might calm down again and continue directly to the end, an unexpected incident occurred on the track.

Lap 53 saw a major accident on the track.

Latifi made a mistake coming out of a corner, crashing his car straight into the track barrier, with the rear ending up facing outward on the track. The front wing was completely torn off by Latifi, scattering carbon fiber debris everywhere.

At the same time, a yellow flag also appeared in the broadcast footage next to the driver ranking on the left side.

Due to the tricky position where Latifi crashed, a virtual safety car wouldn't suffice; a safety car was needed to clear the debris left on the track.

Qin Miao had been content with just cruising through this race, as he was satisfied with his current position. After all, he had already secured the annual driver's championship, so why ask for more?

Yet, with the appearance of the safety car, a dangerous idea formed in Qin Miao's mind.

That was to pit for soft tires, which might allow him to not only secure the season's driver's championship but also clinch the race victory.

This idea was extremely tempting for top drivers like Qin Miao because it was highly feasible.

After all, there were only a few laps left, and Qin Miao still had a set of brand-new soft tires at his disposal.

So, the moment the safety car was deployed, Qin Miao asked Frankie over the team radio, "Has the safety car come out? Can I pit for soft tires?"

The Mercedes strategy team, though tense due to Latifi's sudden crash, responded calmly.

But the situation was somewhat passive for Mercedes,

because if both of their drivers pitted, and Red Bull's Verstappen and Perez did not, then both Qin Miao and Hamilton would have to overtake Perez before challenging Verstappen.

What if they didn't pit and Verstappen and Perez pitted for soft tires?

Red Bull had it much easier.

As mentioned before, Red Bull had nothing to lose at this point; they were like a drowning man grasping at any straw that came their way.

The safety car was Red Bull's lifeline.

So, the moment the safety car appeared, Red Bull's strategy group decided to pit Verstappen for a set of soft tires used only during a Q1 qualifying session.

Not everyone is like Qin Miao, keeping three sets of unused new tires for the race even if they weren't needed.

Others neither had that ability nor necessity.

Yet, with where Latifi crashed, a set of soft tires used for just one flying lap would still be much faster than regular hard tires after the safety car period ended.

After some tense discussions, Frankie finally took the initiative to tell Qin Miao, "Qin Miao, let's prioritize stability for this race. You need to know that Verstappen has Perez behind him, and if you pit now, you'll definitely get stuck behind Perez."

Qin Miao thought about it for a moment and figured Frankie made sense, so he finally gave up on this tempting thought.

You can always fight for a race win, but the driver's championship only comes once a year; missing it might lead to a lifetime of regret.

After this, Red Bull noticed that neither Mercedes driver intended to pit.

Understanding Mercedes' strategy, Perez saw no need to stay out either, so both Red Bull drivers opted to pit for soft tires under the safety car.

Once Hamilton caught up to the safety car, Qin Miao soon arrived behind him.

Behind Qin Miao was a slow McLaren, followed by two Alpines, one Ferrari, and finally Vettel in the Aston Martin, with Verstappen behind Vettel.

Five slow cars separated Qin Miao from Verstappen.

In principle, the FIA should have ordered the slow cars to un-lap themselves, but given the excessive debris on track, a high-speed chase to catch the train could lead to more incidental damage.

So by lap 55, the race officials not only refrained from issuing an order to un-lap the slow cars but also announced they wouldn't be doing so.

It also took quite some time to clear Russell's car debris.

Realistically, the race could have finished with the safety car leading.

However, the race officials considered that this was the last race of 2021, and the FIA rules clearly suggested that unless necessary, it's preferable for the drivers to lead the last lap.

So, after a brief discussion with colleagues, Michael Massi decided the safety car would pull in on the final lap.

Regarding the slow cars, according to the FIA's recent announcement, they didn't need to be un-lapped.

But seeing the top three drivers and recognizing this as the final race, it seemed that a little suspense in the last lap was desirable.

So Michael Massi planned to un-lap the five slower cars between Qin Miao and Verstappen, allowing Verstappen to challenge the two Mercedes drivers.

However, after coming up with the idea, he conferred with his colleagues.

Upon sharing his thoughts, the two other on-duty race officials immediately vetoed Michael Massi's decision.

Not because it was against the regulations, but because they had just announced they wouldn't un-lap the cars, and reversing the decision would be contradictory.

Moreover, given Qin Miao's defensive skills, even if Verstappen had new soft tires, what could he do? At most, he could overtake Qin Miao; would he and Qin Miao crash out together?

If the two actually collided and retired, wouldn't Hamilton win the championship?

This season was already exciting enough; there was no need for further surprises in the final lap.

So, they decided to leave it as is.

Although many in the industry felt dissatisfied with a Chinese driver like Qin Miao winning this year's F1 driver's championship, it was preferable to Hamilton winning it.

In the end, on lap 58, the safety car pulled out, and Hamilton didn't slow down the pace, knowing it was only Qin Miao behind him, who was clearly slower in this race.

Even if he slowed down, Qin Miao couldn't catch up.

Yet, this also meant that the driver's championship now had little to do with Hamilton.

Hamilton knew he had no chance to retain the championship, nor could he surpass Schumacher's standing in F1 history.

At that moment, Hamilton wanted to say something, but the shadow of defeat crushed him like the night's gloom, causing a moment of disorientation and a drowning sense of suffocation, leaving him nearly speechless.

Hamilton was leading on the track, knowing that once across the line, he'd win the race, but there was no joy, only the bitterness of defeat.

Though he knew it was futile to dwell on it, Hamilton couldn't help but wonder if the season's outcome would have been different if he'd been more diligent from the start, made fewer mistakes, spent more time on the racing simulator, and focused more on car development.