Chapter 1416 - 532: An Unexpectedly Turbulent Opening (Part 2)

Chapter 1416: Chapter 532: An Unexpectedly Turbulent Opening (Part 2)

Although Verstappen quickly adjusted the car’s position and controlled it, this slip completely eliminated any possibility for Verstappen to maintain his position during the T3 exit phase.

After exiting the corner, Verstappen naturally fell behind Qin Miao.

Qin Miao overtook two people before even completing the first timed sector.

This was the most impressive overtaking by Qin Miao at the start of this season, not wasting his soft tires nor his excellent start.

Meanwhile, a red shadow suddenly drifted across the buffer zone outside of T3.

This is not unusual; in normal circumstances, failing to brake in time at T3 and rushing into the buffer zone happens often. But this time was different because the car rushed in backwards.

The reason...

Leclerc collided with Stroll, causing Leclerc to spin on the track and then rush backward into the buffer zone.

Although Leclerc immediately accelerated as soon as the car stopped, trying to struggle out of the buffer zone.

However, it is much more difficult to get out using the car’s inertia when stopped backward on the track compared to driving straight in.

Even top drivers like Qin Miao and Verstappen don’t have much confidence getting the car out in such a situation.

Qin Miao also tried this kind of training on Mercedes’ simulator, but after nearly three years, his success rate is still only 10%.

In other words, out of 100 simulator attempts, even someone as strong as Hamilton or Qin Miao can only rescue the car successfully 10 times.

So unsurprisingly, Leclerc got stuck.

The car couldn’t get out of the buffer zone, and a yellow flag appeared on the track, turning into a safety car shortly after half a lap.

Leclerc also left his car.

Speaking of which, Leclerc really is unlucky. Out of the three races this season so far, Leclerc has had two retirements and one penalty drop.

This season, Leclerc has yet to have a normal Grand Prix weekend.

This is also the worst start for a Ferrari driver since 2012.

Sitting on the Ferrari team’s command platform, Mekis wore a serious expression, while Vassel covered his face with his hands.

On the other side, Zhou Guanyu, Bottas, and O’Kang all chose to pit for tire changes.

But this isn’t surprising, since they are all mid-field drivers, changing tires now won’t affect their rankings.

But the front-row drivers are different. Pitting for tires at this time is equivalent to signaling to everyone that they are preparing to restart from the last position.

So Qin Miao’s ranking still remains second.

The safety car left after leading into the fourth lap.

Once the race resumed.

Hamilton, Qin Miao, and Verstappen quickly opened up a gap from fourth-place Alonso.

During this time, Verstappen was pressuring Qin Miao from the DRS zone right behind him, waiting to make his move once the DRS was activated.

Then on the sixth lap, when everyone thought they could watch the on-track battle between Qin Miao and Verstappen, while Hamilton could push for his flying lap on the track.

On the seventh lap, just as the DRS opened, Albon, who was in sixth place, made a mistake at the high-speed T6 by hitting the curb, causing the car to lose control and crash directly into the buffer zone. Due to the car’s high speed, Albon’s car collided with the guardrail outside the buffer zone and slid back onto the track under the inertia.

At the same time, Albon’s crash carried a lot of fine sand onto the track from the buffer zone.

The race organizers dispatched the safety car immediately.

Meanwhile, they also provided the total time for pitting at this point, which was 13 seconds, a full 9 seconds less than the normal 22-second pit stop time.

Without a doubt, this was indeed a good time to pit.

On top of that, Qin Miao’s current set of tires had wear issues.

The team still intended for Qin Miao to drive a stint on track, so upon seeing the safety car, they hoped Qin Miao would pit for a set of hard tires.

For Qin Miao, this set of hard tires is indeed the best choice, as his ability could make it through the entire race with them.

If Red Bull sees Qin Miao switching to hard tires, they might also take action.

After all, the past two races this year have proven that while Red Bull’s cars are fast, Qin Miao’s otherworldly tire management skills pose a significant threat to Red Bull.

Therefore, after Qin Miao pitted, Red Bull might let Verstappen pit right after him to secure the lead position or have Verstappen run a short, fast stint to create a pitting window between him and Qin Miao before pitting.

Overall, Red Bull is aware of the new track law after two races: if they want Verstappen to win, he can’t be behind Qin Miao.

So Qin Miao also found it a good opportunity to pit and change tires, planning to finish the race on hard tires.

Thus, when Qin Miao passed the pit lane entrance, he chose to pit and change tires.

When Verstappen, who was always following Qin Miao, saw him pit, he didn’t choose to follow him in; instead, joy erupted inside him like a volcano.

Pit stop? No pit stop!

Pitting now would certainly place him behind Qin Miao, but if he doesn’t pit, chances are he won’t fall behind Qin Miao. Verstappen had enough of being stuck and tormented behind Qin Miao.

Verstappen would rather face Qin Miao’s attacks later in the race due to his tires wearing out than have an advantage in tire comparison to Qin Miao, yet unable to overtake him on the track no matter what.

That feeling of being completely defended by Qin Miao was too suffocating.

Red Bull shared Verstappen’s thoughts, so he didn’t take advantage of the safety car to pit.

Qin Miao has always been excellent at parking, and this time was no exception. He stopped precisely at the position where the tire changers could work most efficiently.

The Mercedes’ crew executed the tire change flawlessly, completing it admirably in just 2.1 seconds.

After Qin Miao changed his tires and left the pit lane, he fell to seventh place, ahead of Tsunoda and behind Hockenheim.

These two posed no threat to Qin Miao; all he needed to do was conserve his tires and chase once the race resumed.

When the race restarted, Qin Miao needed to patiently wait for the later stages, where the grip of the tires in front of him would drop significantly, which would be the time for his hard tires to shine.

After exiting the pit lane, commentators from Five-Star Sports began discussing Hamilton’s and Verstappen’s status, as well as the prerequisites needed for Qin Miao to defeat them.

At this point, their assessments were similar to Qin Miao’s, waiting for the race’s later stage when Qin Miao could showcase his tire management advantage.

Then, on the eighth lap, the safety car suddenly switched to a red flag.

"Huh? A red flag!" The three commentators from Five-Star Sports, who were initially discussing Mercedes’ pit stop strategy for Qin Miao and its advantages for this race, were shocked by the sudden red flag.

After a brief pause, the three commentators erupted with sharp exclamations.

"Qin Miao! He pitted too early!"

"Oh no, what a great position Qin Miao had, why a red flag now?"

"What are the organizers doing? There’s no need for a red flag!"