How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 959 377: Unlucky Zhou Guanyu

When the time was about right, Qin Miao washed his face with ice water and then got up to go to the dressing room to change clothes.When Qin Miao appeared in the live broadcast footage at the scene, he was inside the team P room chatting with Hamilton.

Judging from their demeanor, they seemed to be having a serious conversation.

Maybe many fans who saw this scene didn't think much of it; in their impression, Qin Miao and Hamilton always had a good relationship.

In fact, because of this, many people in China are fans of Hamilton.

This is considered a case of "love for the house extending to its crows."

But some insiders were somewhat surprised when they saw this.

Previously, there were rumors in the paddock that Qin Miao and Hamilton had reconciled, which they hadn't believed at the time.

After all, Qin Miao had taken a driver's championship away from Hamilton.

This kind of animosity, although not as severe as a "murder of one's father," is still deeply rooted.

But now, looking at it, it seems truly real!

...

Typically, during this pre-race preparation stage, drivers are usually busy in their own positions, so naturally, it's unusual for them to gather together like this.

In fact, Qin Miao and Hamilton were discussing matters related to car settings.

Once the qualifying rounds start, as long as you achieve a valid result, you can't modify your car settings anymore, or your qualifying result will be disqualified.

At this time, communicating some of the insights gathered during practice sessions can be a last effort to cram before the race.

However, after reminders from the track engineers of the two drivers, Qin Miao rarely shook hands with Hamilton: "Good luck with the race."

Returning to his car, the qualifying rounds were about to begin.

In Q1's first flying lap, Qin Miao's lap time was quite good: 1:30.511.

This result essentially guaranteed admission to Q2.

For this reason, Qin Miao didn't continue using brand new soft tires in the subsequent race; instead, he used the soft tires he had utilized during practice sessions to complete laps.

Meanwhile, after adjusting his driving style, Hamilton's speed immediately picked up.

Apparently, Hamilton had fallen into a misunderstanding earlier, but once guided by Qin Miao to another path, his original competitiveness returned instantly.

Despite Hamilton's first flying lap in Q1 being wasted due to some fumbling operation and rear wheel slipping at a corner, causing him to run off the track.

However, Hamilton's second flying lap in Q1 quickly adapted to his driving style and immediately regained his form.

He advanced to Q2 with a time of 1:30.388, ahead of Qin Miao.

This session's Q1 wasn't as full of unexpected events as the last Italy Grand Prix.

The sole discomfort for domestic fans was, Zhou Guanyu's last flying lap encountered traffic at position T17.

Everyone was waiting for the front car to run a certain distance before running a clean flying lap themselves, without interference from other cars.

The key, however, is that many drivers had this idea, so by the time Zhou Guanyu reached that lap, there were already three or four cars blocking his way.

Consequently, a white flag appeared on the track, forcing Zhou Guanyu to abandon what seemed to be a promising flying lap.

Although enough time was left for Zhou Guanyu to cross the finish line again for another flying lap, the soft tire on his car had already completed a flying lap, and the grip was certainly not as before.

Though Zhou Guanyu had learned a lot from Qin Miao, he couldn't quite learn Qin Miao's tire-saving ability.

Even if Qin Miao wanted to teach, he couldn't convey it.

Therefore, in the second lap, Zhou Guanyu's speed was not as good as before.

Helplessly, the unlucky Zhou Guanyu was ultimately eliminated in Q1.

The drivers eliminated in Q1 were: Magelsen, Zhou Guanyu, Russell, Albon, O'Kang.

The reason O'Kang appeared in this position was that he discovered car malfunctions during the qualifying rounds, spending his entire Q1 in the team P room, unable to achieve a valid single-lap result throughout the qualifying stage.

During the Q2 stage, both Qin Miao and Hamilton, the two Mercedes drivers, showed good speed.

They achieved quite impressive results in the first timed section of Q2.

In Q2, the only notable event was after the completion of Q2, when both successfully progressed, Qin Miao was summoned to the FIA inspection area.

Qin Miao remembered the last time he was called for an inspection was in the last season.

However, FIA people were considerate, only summoning Qin Miao after he completed his last flying lap in Q2, thus allowing him to successfully progress to Q2.

The drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Gasly, Alonso, Vettel, Ricardo, Mick.

Post-race broadcasters provided a lap time comparison chart between Qin Miao and Hamilton, comparing which driver was slightly faster in certain corners among the team.

The chart clearly showed that the lap speed line segments of the two drivers were almost overlapping.

Quickly, the time came for Q3.

Usually, Qin Miao's driving style remains stable, but in Q3's first flying lap, he unexpectedly made a mistake.