How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 1002 389: A Close Call

Therefore, Qin Miao stayed here, and the Martin Team people wouldn't come to evict him or anything. In fact, a staff member even came over to ask if Qin Miao needed a chair.However, Qin Miao declined his offer, because shortly afterward Barber came running with an umbrella to find him.

Then the two of them went back together to the Mercedes team's P room.

There was no saying when the rain would stop, so upon returning to the team P room, Qin Miao removed most of the gear he was wearing.

He even took off his racing suit.

Even though the undersuit of Qin Miao's racing attire was black, after taking off the racing suit, it was clear to see that except for the part under the helmet, all other parts had been thoroughly soaked by the rain.

That's only natural, as the driver's racing suit is fireproof, but not waterproof.

Especially since today's rain in Monaco was so heavy.

Qin Miao had even walked a long way back through the rain.

Of course, Qin Miao didn't find anything uncomfortable about the feeling of wearing wet clothes either, since during the race, the suit's undersuit rarely stays dry anyway.

It's either raining, making it wet, or sweating during a high-temperature race, wetting the fireproof undersuit. Even in non-high-temperature races, drivers sometimes sweat excessively due to nervousness, causing the fireproof undersuit to get wet.

Wearing wet clothes during the race isn't something unique to Qin Miao; other drivers are also accustomed to it.

Moreover, during the race, everyone stays completely focused, so nobody pays attention to whether their clothes are wet or not.

Fortunately, these clothes are made of quick-drying fabric, and after returning to the team P room and taking off the racing suit, within five to six minutes, the moisture on Qin Miao's body started to exhibit signs of drying.

Qin Miao waited in the team P room for half an hour from the suspension of the race to its restart.

At this point, Qin Miao's clothes were completely dry, and the rain on the track had also started to diminish, making Qin Miao realize the race was about to restart.

Consequently, Qin Miao tidied up his equipment, confirmed there was no mistake, and returned to his car.

Although the rain had stopped by now, there were still patches of moisture left on the track from the recent storm, and in several places, puddles were still present.

These would undoubtedly affect the drivers' starts and lap times.

Even though the rain had stopped now, when the race was about to start, all drivers were still using full wet tires.

The start would once again be led by the safety car.

However, this time after starting, the laps led by the safety car would be counted as official race laps.

Next, all drivers followed the safety car for two laps.

Before the second lap ended, the roof lights of the safety car went off, indicating that after this lap it would be heading to the pits.

At this time, the race would formally begin.

After two laps, though a distinct dry line hadn't been made on the track, the drivers' race lines were noticeably drier compared to other areas.

At least there were no obvious puddles anymore.

Since it was a rolling start, the pressure Qin Miao felt was significantly lower, so before reaching T18, Qin Miao focused on warming up the tires.

Right after exiting T19, Qin Miao began accelerating out of the corner.

A rolling start doesn't depend on the driver's reaction ability but rather on the reaction ability of the driver behind.

This time, Leclerc's reaction was decent, not slower than Qin Miao by much.

Although Leclerc attempted to use the advantage of the car's engine to catch up to Qin Miao on the straight, the starting straight at the Monte Carlo circuit is just too short.

All Leclerc could do was get beside Qin Miao on the outside, roughly parallel with Qin Miao's right rear wheel and the front wing.

This was the extent of Leclerc's ability, and after that, he was firmly blocked on the inside by Qin Miao. Attempting to slot in behind Qin Miao on the left to enter the corner together, Leclerc almost got squeezed into the wall by Qin Miao.

So after exiting T1, Leclerc complied and continued to follow behind Qin Miao, waiting for the track to dry, waiting for DRS to open, and waiting for a mistake from Qin Miao.