How did I become an F1 driver?

As time went by, the race came to the 60th lap. Perez chose to pit and change tires on this lap, but he changed to full rain tires.

Anyway, in Red Bull's view, Perez's race today has been ruined and there is no possibility of him scoring any points.

Now they can change to a set of all-weather tires and go on the track to test the speed of all-weather tires. If the speed is good, then they can also call Verstappen to pit in advance to change tires. At least in this way he will not miss the opportunity to pit.

If the speed isn't good, there's nothing to lose anyway.

It's just that the results are a bit ugly.

As time went on, the rain on the track began to get heavier again.

Almost all drivers experienced skidding on the track, but everyone was able to control their cars when they were about to lose control.

But there was an exception on the track, and no one even expected that this person would crash on the track.

At the swimming pool bend, Qin Miao's car was briefly bounced into the air because he bit the curb a little too much.

After landing, the car was out of control for a short time and was about to hit the wall.

However, Qin Miao stepped on the accelerator again, then reversed the steering wheel immediately, and continued to reverse the steering wheel when the racing tires regained grip, saving the car. However, the guardrail on the outside of T15 was too close to the track.

Although Qin Miao turned to the left in an attempt to save the car as soon as he gained control of it, the car still hit the track guardrail due to inertia.

This can be said to be the first serious mistake Qin Miao made on the track this season.

But many people still remember Qin Miao’s heroic performance in the last rain battle.

Therefore, many fans started discussing Qin Miao's dual nature as a god or a ghost after this race.

This collision was not serious, but it did knock off the entire end plate on the right side of Qin Miao's front nose and a large part of the nose.

The good news is that this time the front nose wing helped Qin Miao absorb most of the impact force, and Qin Miao was also slowing down during the process. So even though the right tire of Qin Miao was hit later, the Mercedes-Benz golden front suspension played a role and the front suspension of the car was not damaged.

Because the track was slippery, the remaining inertia of the car shifted to the rear wheel after the front nose and right front suspension of the car hit the wall.

Eventually the rear wheel hit the guardrail, eliminating all the inertia of the car.

The car bounced slightly on the track and then continued to move forward. It didn't seem to be a big deal.

As soon as Qin Miao discovered that his car was out of control, he completed a series of rescue actions.

This was entirely out of Qin Miao's instinct.

This car crash was a close call.

Because the ground was slippery, Qin Miao would normally have broken the right front suspension and retired from the race. However, because the track was slippery, the one collision was divided into three collisions, which gradually eliminated all the inertia.

It just happened to be stuck at the limit of Qin Miao's racing car's suspension bearing capacity.

A normal person would definitely be confused for a while after being hit.

Because the sudden impact will cause the driver's brain to fall into a chaotic state for a short period of time.

The same is true for Qin Miao, but the difference is that sometimes when Qin Miao runs a race, he relies not on his brain but on his physical instincts.

After all, when encountering some boring races, this guy can drive while distracting himself, and the key is that his speed is not slow.

After the collision, Qin Miao's mind suddenly regained clarity, and he immediately asked in the team TR: "How much speed did I lose? Can the car continue to run? Tell me the situation."

Franky answered Qin Miao's question immediately after the crash: "We don't know exactly how much speed we lost, but judging from the telemetry data, the car is fine as a whole. You can continue to drive on the track. We will keep an eye on the data and let you know if there is any situation."

After Qin Miao finished speaking, before he could say anything, the team strategy group interrupted and added, "Now because of the rain, the aerodynamic kit has little effect on the speed of the car. Qin Miao, you continue to stay on the track and insist on not pitting. We did not see any debris left on the front nose of your car through the broadcast, so we will not be shown a fault flag. Now continue to drive on the track. If possible, try to increase the time gap with the Ferrari car for changing the front nose. If there is a yellow flag or a safety car on the track, we still need to pit and change the front nose."

Qin Miao was feeling a little nervous after the car crash, but he calmed down a lot after hearing what the team said.

But the commentators of Five Star Sports were shocked after seeing this scene.

"Hey Qin Miao, be careful!"

"Why did Qin Miao make a mistake here?"

"It is indeed difficult to run the swimming pool curve on a rainy day. Qin Miao probably did not grasp the position well due to the water on the track."

……

At the same time, the director did not play the footage from the stadium, but instead played a slow-motion replay of Qin Miao's last lap.

After all, Swimming Pool Bay is a classic corner of the Monte Carlo Circuit. Many drivers will make mistakes here, and this is also the position where most drivers' tires are closest to the guardrail, so FOM also placed a high-speed camera here.

In the slow-motion replay, Qin Miao's car actually had no problems entering the turn. It had a very standard turning angle, and was about five or six centimeters away from the guardrail of the swimming pool bay.

At this time, someone would say, wasn't Qin Miao's closest distance to the wall always a few tenths of a centimeter when he was in the rankings? Why is he so far away now?
But you have to know that qualifying is not the race. Qualifying is about pursuing the limit, while the race requires long-distance speed and stability.

There are also requirements for tire protection, and the most important thing for long-distance speed is that you can run on the track long enough.

The Monaco Grand Prix has a total of 78 laps, and you can't be so close to the guardrail for every 78 laps.

Even if you are a robot, factors such as rain, wind, asphalt, tire wear, fuel consumption, etc. on the track will affect the speed and condition of the car, and even the angle of entry into the corner.

You can't be that close to the wall for every one of the 78 laps.

If you're not careful, your car might crash into the wall.

In the replay, Qin Miao's cornering angle was a normal cornering angle during the race, but when cutting the APEX point, the distance between Qin Miao and the guardrail shown in the broadcast screen was 0.

In the slow-motion replay, everyone saw that Qin Miao's car was not lifted up by the curb, but the right front wheel slightly scraped the guardrail, and as a result, the overall center of gravity of the car shifted to the left.

It was because of this sudden left deviation that Qin Miao's car further lost control.

Ordinary viewers may think that this was just an ordinary track accident and Qin Miao did not control the distance well when driving the car.

But in fact, anyone who knows a little about racing can see that Qin Miao was most likely affected by the side wind.

When the Mercedes team checked Qin Miao's throttle curve, they found that there was basically no big difference between Qin Miao's lap and the previous lap. The good news is that after one lap, on the 61st lap, the team found that Qin Miao's lap time was only 0.2 seconds less.

This time loss would be a nuisance at other tracks, but in Monte Carlo it is not a problem.

Moreover, after Qin Miao's mistake, Leclerc behind him did not overtake Qin Miao.

Because the time interval between Qin Miao's crash and recovery was too short, Leclerc did not seize this opportunity.

Although the accident was safe, Qin Miao was unable to keep up with Hamilton's pace on the track after the accident.

Originally, there was no speed difference between Qin Miao and Hamilton in this race, but the 0.2-second single-lap speed loss created a crack in the strength gap between Qin Miao and Hamilton.

After this period of chaos, the track returned to its original state.

Everyone started a boring cruise in their own position.

Although the drivers were very careful when running in Monte Carlo, they were afraid that they would hit the wall like Qin Miao if they were not careful.

But in the eyes of the audience, such a cruise is somewhat boring.

However, most of the audience expressed their understanding. After all, they all knew that cruising was the norm at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Therefore, the experienced audience just relished the chaos that just happened on the field.

In the second half of the race, the rain on the track had stopped by the time the race reached 75 laps.

The conditions are fully met to pit and change to dry tires, but no one will choose to pit and change tires at this time.

The time gap between Qin Miao and Hamilton at this time has been widened to 2.1 seconds because Qin Miao's car was damaged.

It can be said that Qin Miao no longer poses any threat to Hamilton at this time. In addition to Leclerc, the driver blocked behind Qin Miao also has Ocon because Qin Miao's speed has slowed down.

They started driving a small train behind Qin Miao openly.

Obviously, this race will definitely end in a dull cruise, but before that, Franky told Qin Miao through the team TR: "In the last few laps, you have to eat more rubber on the roadside."

Frankie also explained why Qin Miao did this: "The front nose of the car is damaged. We are worried that the weight will not meet the standard during the post-race inspection. So from now on, you should drive more on the non-driving lanes and put as much rubber as possible on the tires."

Mercedes-Benz is not worried that letting Qin Miao drive on the non-driving lane on the track now will cause Qin Miao to lose his finishing position.

If Qin Miao made such a mistake in Monte Carlo, he would not be Qin Miao.

And Qin Miao did not let the team down.

Although Qin Miao had been driving on the non-driving lane in the last two laps, cooling the tires while absorbing the rubber on the side of the track.

Leclerc, who was behind Qin Miao, was also ready to try to take away Qin Miao's podium when Qin Miao's line was strange.

But Qin Miao resolved all of Leclerc's attacks one by one.

In the end, he and Hamilton crossed the finish line one after the other.

Got third.

Qin Miao was still very happy after crossing the finish line.

Smiling, he thanked the team staff for their help in the team TR.

To be honest, after the qualifying race ended yesterday, Qin Miao really didn't think he could stand on the podium today. Maybe at most he could just move up one position and get fourth.

Even if Alonso and Leclerc had not made mistakes, he might not even have finished fourth and could only finish fifth.

But I didn't expect that at the critical moment, you don't need to do anything. You just need to do your own thing, and then all you have to do is wait for your opponent to make a stupid move.

Finally, the ranking and scores of the Monaco Grand Prix are as follows:
P1: Verstappen +25
P2: Hamilton +19 (fastest lap)
P3: Qin Miao +15
P4: Leclerc +12
P5: Alonso +10
P6: O'Connell +8
P7: Sainz +6
P8: Gasly +4
P9: Norris +2
P10: Piastri +1
There is nothing much to say about Verstappen's victory in today's race. On a track like Monte Carlo, the Red Bull car with better aerodynamic design does perform better.

The performance of the two Mercedes drivers today can only be described as mediocre. It's not because the two drivers are incapable, but purely because the track limits their performance. However, being able to enter the podium is enough to make the Mercedes team staff feel gratified.

Although they were able to stand on the podium, it was all thanks to the support of their peers.

Leclerc, who ranked 4th, also had a remarkable performance. At least compared to Qin Miao, Leclerc did not make any mistakes and hit the wall in today's race.

Even if the team hadn't made any stupid mistakes in the qualifying stage, Leclerc could have still been on the podium in his home court in today's race.

If we have to find fault with Leclerc, his only mistake in today's race might be that when Qin Miao climbed up the wall, Leclerc did not seize the opportunity to overtake Qin Miao.

Brother Tou really suffered an unforeseen disaster. The team's stupid pit stop strategy caused Brother Tou to lose the second place.

After the race, the driver's emotions were relatively stable, but it is undeniable that the loss of his podium was entirely the responsibility of the Martin team's strategy team.

I won’t go into details about the rest.

After crossing the finish line, Qin Miao was still rolling rubber on the non-driving line of the track. When Qin Miao finished a lap and returned to the track to park the car, there was actually not much rubber on the tires of the car.

After all, rainy days are different from dry days.

The temperature of tires on rainy days is not very high and cannot absorb the rubber on the roadside very well.

But there was still some rubber residue on Qin Miao's four tires.

It looks like it weighs at least two or three kilograms.

After parking the car in the third position, Qin Miao got out.

At this time, Verstappen had just escaped from the crowd of Red Bull Racing drivers.

Verstappen's car was so fast in today's race that he even stopped on the track and started celebrating earlier than Qin Miao and Hamilton.

Qin Miao had nothing to say about Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing car had such a huge advantage on this track that he could not envy it. (End of this chapter)