How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 962 377: Unlucky Zhou Guanyu

From the start, the two Mercedes drivers quickly began to shorten the gap between themselves and Bottas ahead.Although the Miami Grand Prix has many straightaways, the starting straight here isn't really long.

So, despite Qin Miao and Hamilton being faster than Bottas ahead, neither found an opportunity to overtake Bottas at T1.

Hamilton even locked his right front wheel when braking due to Perez's blocking ahead during the corner entry.

Consequently, Qin Miao smoothly overtook his teammate on the outside line after the corner exit.

Without being affected, Tsunoda could have seized the opportunity to overtake Hamilton after his mistake.

However, because of Qin Miao's blocking, Tsunoda couldn't gain another position.

Hamilton quickly regained his rhythm in a short period.

He even subtly raised his hand in Qin Miao's direction, acknowledging that without Qin Miao's deliberate blocking of Tsunoda, Hamilton might have lost two positions due to his mistake.

At the front, Verstappen and the Red Bull car exhibited powerful performance during the race.

Verstappen was quicker than Sainz ahead from the start, overtaking him on the outside line at T1 thanks to better aerodynamics.

In fact, at T2, Sainz still had the positional advantage and could have forced Verstappen off the track at T1.

After all, the rules allow it.

But Sainz softened and let Verstappen through.

Considering Sainz retired early in the last race, he was naturally cautious this time, prioritizing a smooth start and continuation of the race.

After all, if he went off track again, Ferrari and its fans would start questioning his status.

Ultimately, he dropped to third, which was inevitable.

Among the top ten starters, only Verstappen and Qin Miao gained a position.

The race then settled into a cruising phase.

Everyone was waiting for the opening of DRS.

Qin Miao's task now was to catch up with Bottas ahead.

However, this was frustrating for Qin Miao because the Mercedes W13's acceleration in the final segment couldn't keep up with the Alfa Romeo ahead.

Although Qin Miao could easily catch up with Bottas around corners, he kept getting left behind on straights.

The previous year, Qin Miao couldn't imagine that the Mercedes, famous for its engine power, would be unable to track down an Alfa this season.

However, as the race reached the third lap, DRS opened.

Having stayed within a second behind Bottas, Qin Miao launched his attack.

He easily overtook Bottas in the DRS zone on the super long straight between T16 and T17 in the fourth lap.

In fact, Bottas tried to defend against Qin Miao, but Bottas isn't known for his defensive skills.

During his Mercedes days, his offensive and defensive capabilities weren't outstanding, and now he's in an Alfa facing Qin Miao, a formidable opponent on both sides.

Naturally, he seemed powerless, easily manipulated by Qin Miao.

After overtaking Bottas, Qin Miao moved up to fifth.

Upon seeing Qin Miao overtake Bottas to reach fifth, the commentators of Five-Star Sports felt both joy and regret.

Considering Qin Miao's current position and Mercedes' competitiveness this season, "I feel that Qin Miao can only reach fifth at most in this race, likely finishing fifth," Fei said this unexpectedly.

The other two Five-Star Sports commentators paused upon hearing Fei's words.

Then they started to agree, as if they realized something: "The competitiveness of the Mercedes car this season isn't great; I also think Qin Miao is likely to finish at this position."

"Though we don't want to believe it, it seems Qin Miao's race is already over."