How did I become an F1 driver?

第581章 565：戏剧性一超二（6K，加更2/5）

“After all, there are only eight points for a sprint champion. If we find an obvious opportunity during the race, we will take action. If we don’t find one, we should focus on protecting our car and the points we are sure to get.”

This is what Franky said to Qin Miao in the team TR before the race started.

There is nothing wrong with what he said. Even if he wins the sprint race, it will only be 8 points. There is really no need to fight for these 8 points.

Even Qin Miao himself thought so, and the idea in Qin Miao's mind just now was based on this premise.

After the preparation time was over, the staff left the track and the sprint race was about to begin.

The audience on site today still filled all the auditoriums, but because of the rain, they did not set off the iconic orange smoke bombs of Red Bull fans in the auditorium as they did in the past.

Of course, speaking of Red Bull fans, there is one thing worth mentioning. That is, when Qin Miao attended the fan meeting at the Red Bull Ring this season and entered the track from the crowd of fans, the Red Bull fans at the scene still did not give Qin Miao a good look after seeing Qin Miao. There were also some discordant voices, and they directly pointed at Qin Miao's nose and scolded him on the spot.

But Qin Miao's situation was completely different compared to last season when he arrived at the Red Bull Ring.

Last season, all the Red Bull fans at the Red Bull Ring were united in shouting "F**k Qin Miao".

The whole world can’t resist this.

Now, many relatively neutral Red Bull fans will even say hello to Qin Miao when they see him.

After all, they could see that Qin Miao could not pose any threat to Verstappen's world championship in the driver's standings at this time, so they were more tolerant of Qin Miao.

While chatting and laughing, Qin Miao and his team also completed the warm-up lap of this race.

Each returned to their starting position.

Qin Miao looked around.

There are two Red Bull cars in front and Norris on the right.

Norris also poses a threat to himself, and the McLaren car for this race has also been upgraded, otherwise he would not have been in this position.

But Qin Miao didn't take this matter too seriously.

In the current season, the only team that can really pose a threat to Mercedes is Red Bull. Among the three people who pose a threat to Qin Miao, two are in the front and the other is at the end of the team.

So just as Franky said to Qin Miao in the team TR before the race started, as long as Qin Miao did not make any mistakes on the track in today's race, he would be able to get a third place at least and get five points.

Soon, all the drivers were ready.

Oh... except Bottas

Because Sauber had an extremely clever tire strategy. They asked Bottas to change to semi-wet tires, betting that the rain on the track would stop at the beginning of the race.

Then when all the drivers stopped and waited for the race to start, the rain on the track not only did not get lighter, but it got heavier.

So Bottas had no choice but to go back to the team's P room and change back to rain tires.

Otherwise he wouldn't be able to run in this race.

The other drivers were racing, he was skating.

The five red lights go out and the race begins.

Although Perez, who started from the inside, was on the dirty side, he was obviously more adept at controlling the starting position of the car and started faster than his teammate Verstappen.

After the start, Verstappen found that he did not start as well as his teammate Perez.

Perez's lead gradually widened as time went on.

So in order to avoid being overtaken by Perez before T1, Verstappen squeezed towards Perez before entering T1.

However, even though Perez was squeezed to the edge of the track guardrail, he did not give up trying to keep pace with Verstappen.

And he did it.

The main reason why Perez is so determined and wants to fight with his teammates on the track is that Perez himself knows that at this time many people in the Red Bull team feel that their abilities are no longer worthy of this position.

This sprint race is just the chance for Perez to prove himself.

In the end, the two Red Bull cars drove side by side towards T1.

Qin Miao's side.

His starting speed was faster than Norris, who was on the inside of him, but because of his position, the inside of the track had been blocked by two Red Bull cars.

Qin Miao had no angle to look for opportunities inside at this time.

So Qin Miao simply took a normal cornering route on the outside. At least in this way, when entering and exiting the corner, Qin Miao's speed could be a little faster than Norris on the inside.

Although it seemed that the speed of Qin Miao's car was normal at this moment, Qin Miao, who was driving the car, could not help but become excited.

Because he saw a possibility that the two Red Bull drivers might fight each other at the start.

Now Perez has the advantage of starting and is in the inside.

Even at the indicator light in the pit area, Perez had already completed a pass on Verstappen on the inside line.

Verstappen also noticed Perez's speed and realized that Perez on the inside had hit his head. He could not defend against Perez no matter what, so Verstappen had no choice but to return to the original lane of the track and gave up defending his teammate.

Back to the outside line, Verstappen just blocked Qin Miao.

Perez also gained outside space and entered T1 in a better position.

In the end, Perez surpassed his teammate in T1.

Perez's overtaking this time can be regarded as making up for his poor performance in recent times.

At least after seeing Perez's performance, Horner and Marco's urge to take Perez down on the spot faded a little.

On the track,

Qin Miao didn't actually put much pressure on Verstappen when he was exiting the turn. He just followed behind Verstappen.

But Verstappen took the crossing line of his teammate.

The Red Bull Ring is not like the Villeneuve Circuit where there is no soil for cross-trails. There are many places where cross-trails can be taken at the Red Bull Ring.

Although there was no DRS at this time, Verstappen relied on the fact that the distance between the braking points from T1 to T3 was far enough.

He took a crossing line, trying to absorb his teammate's slipstream and overtake him before the braking point of T3.

Seeing this, Perez directly squeezed Verstappen in his inside line at T2, and almost pushed Verstappen onto the grass.

But Verstappen knew clearly that since Perez was so tough, he simply eased off the accelerator and did not put more pressure on Perez.

Perez did not really push Verstappen onto the grass, so both sides took a step back.

Then the two continued to drive forward and came to the braking point of T3.

Perez thought he had put enough pressure on Verstappen, and the other party stepped on the brakes, which was considered as giving up the attack and he no longer posed a threat to him.

Even before the braking point in T3, the gap between Verstappen and Perez was almost a car body.

After Perez put himself in Verstappen's shoes, he didn't think that Verstappen had any chance to attack him given such a big position gap.

So when Perez entered T3, he took the best exit line on the outside.

Then Verstappen on the inside line missed the braking point of T3 and braked extremely late.

Qin Miao, who was standing behind him, gasped in shock. Fortunately, Verstappen was able to brake his car.

Verstappen's kick was almost enough to lock the tires and rush out.

However, although Verstappen braked, it was a little too late. Although he forced his way into Perez's inner line before Perez entered the corner, he still briefly lost control at the center of the T3 bend, although Verstappen quickly took control of the car.

But his car slowed down a lot and at the same time he did not enter the corner in a suitable position.

But Verstappen was not in a hurry because his main rival Perez had been blocked to the outside of the track by him.

Although Perez entered the curve earlier than Verstappen and had a wider line into the curve, there was a car blocking the front of the car, so Perez was powerless even if he wanted to overtake Verstappen.

He couldn't just crash directly into his teammate's car, right?
Verstappen went all out and after regaining grip in the corner, he pushed his teammate off the track.

But perhaps it was because he was too engrossed in the fight, or perhaps it was because Qin Miao had not brought any pressure to Verstappen since the start of the race, which even made Verstappen feel that Qin Miao was a little transparent, and he simply ignored the threat posed by Qin Miao.

Thanks to this, when Verstappen was fighting with his teammate in T3, Qin Miao suddenly rushed from the right side of Verstappen's car.

And by the time Verstappen reacted, he had already overtaken Verstappen.

The acceleration performance of the W14 was undoubtedly demonstrated at this moment, and in a short period of time, it visibly opened up a 0.4 second gap with Verstappen.

In fact, Qin Miao himself was a little bit unbelievable after he surpassed the two of them.

Just like what was said before the race, Qin Miao was not prepared to go head-to-head with Verstappen on the track in this race.

But who could have thought that in T3, Verstappen directly pushed Perez out of the track, and a large space was left in front of him because of Verstappen's operation.

Qin Miao naturally had no reason to miss this great opportunity given by Verstappen. He straightened the car, stepped on the accelerator and completed a one-over-two race.

……

"Verstappen refused to give an inch and blocked Perez."

"Hey, hey, hey, Verstappen braked a little late, but fortunately he managed to control it. It was also for this reason that Verstappen blocked ..."

"Qin Miao! Qin Miao seized the opportunity of the internal fight of Red Bull! One over two in the inside line, beautiful!"

"Perfect opportunity, perfect time to attack, perfect timing!"

"This is Qin Miao. I wonder who will dare to say that Qin Miao is not good at fighting in the rain. Look at his rhythm and speed when exiting the corners, and his ability to seize opportunities. Who else in the entire paddock can do this except him?"

After seeing Qin Miao surpass Verstappen and Perez, the three commentators of Five Star Sports were so excited. They couldn't be blamed for being unhappy. After all, as Qin Miao's fans, they, like other fans, thought that it was already very good for Qin Miao to finish third in today's race, and they didn't dare to ask for too much.

But who could have thought that Red Bull would give them such a good opportunity, and what made them happy was that Qin Miao did not disappoint their expectations and seized this opportunity.

After Qin Miao overtook Verstappen and Perez, the scene changed.

After the director saw that there were no accidents or traffic incidents after the start of the race, he quickly cut the camera to the Mercedes team's P room.

Before this incident happened, the staff in the Mercedes team's P room were all sitting in their seats watching the race. It was highly likely that the drivers would not need to pit to change tires in today's sprint race, because there would be drizzling rain on the track during the sprint race.

And this is a short race, pit stop to change tires means you will lose a lot of time, and it will be difficult for you to catch up with the driver in front in the remaining laps.

After seeing Qin Miao's overtaking, all the team members who were still sitting in their seats jumped up, pumped their fists and celebrated loudly.

Toto also stood up from his seat and cheered.

After seeing the reactions of the people on the Mercedes team's side, the director was very understanding and immediately switched the camera to the Red Bull side.

After all, strictly speaking, the two drivers who overtook Red Bull this time became the background board.

So Horner's complexion was visibly bad at this moment.

If Horner had been overtaken like this at other tracks, he wouldn't have looked so bad.

But this is Red Bull Racing's home turf.

Being overtaken was not due to mistakes made by the two drivers on the track, or any other reason, it was purely due to the infighting between these two bastards.

Such a scene at this time was undoubtedly a slap in Horner's face. There was no way he would look happy.

If we really want to find someone to blame, the main person responsible for this 1-2 defeat is Verstappen.

Because before the braking point at T3, Verstappen actually had no possibility of braking late in rainy conditions to force Perez.

It can be said that his late braking was entirely intended to squeeze Perez off the track.

It was also because of Verstappen's recklessness that Qin Miao had the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Horner had everything planned out before the start of the race. Verstappen would lead in the front, with Perez behind to help Verstappen defend Qin Miao.

Without DRS, it would be very difficult for Qin Miao to overtake Perez on the track. Even if he really overtook Perez, Verstappen would definitely have run far away during the time when Perez was defending Qin Miao.

Therefore, in the Red Bull team's plan for this race, the minimum guarantee is that Verstappen can open up a one-point lead over Qin Miao in the drivers' standings. If Perez performs well, Verstappen can pull away by two points. In this way, the Red Bull team can even have the same points as Mercedes in the team standings.

But now?

It's over, it's over!

Horner on the side had a gloomy face, Marko looked down at something without saying a word, and Newey simply shook his head and left the Red Bull team's podium holding his drawing board.

Newey knew that if DRS was not turned on, even if Verstappen fully charged his car, he would not be able to go any further under Qin Miao's defense.

The final result of this game has been determined. In Newey's opinion, there is nothing to watch anymore, so he can just go home.

The director on the scene also faithfully recorded this scene in full and transmitted the image to all the spectators who were watching the game.

【Ha ha ha ha】

[Horner must be pissed off]

[Newey left in anger]

[While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits]

[Qin Miao made a lot of money. He never thought it would be so easy to surpass Verstappen]

[I guess Qin Miao’s mouth is about to burst with laughter]

【Pan Zi is fully responsible】

[Ricardo: I know this! ]

……

On the track, although Qin Miao didn't laugh so hard that his mouth split open as the fans said in the barrage, it was indeed a bit too exaggerated.

But after Bai picked up a place from two Red Bull drivers, Qin Miao is in a good mood.

After all, my current leading advantage was gained for free.

The two Red Bull drivers simply fed the lead into their own mouths.

However, Qin Miao also knew that excessive joy would lead to sorrow, so it was best not to show off after gaining an advantage.

So after Qin Miao passed the two Red Bulls, he just said to the TR team: "easy."

In Qin Miao's opinion, the word "easy" really means simple in its literal sense.

But when these words reached the ears of the Red Bull team staff, their meaning completely changed. Isn't this a naked mockery?

Red Bull was even more angry.

But it was no use getting angry.

Because Qin Miao’s sprint race ended here.

Although the rain on the track gradually subsided in the later stages of the race, and even stopped completely before the end of the race, clear driving lines could be seen on the track.

But whether it was Qin Miao, Verstappen, Perez or Sainz, they did not choose to pit and change tires in the later stages of the sprint race.

After all, the total length of the race is only 24 laps and 100 kilometers. At this time, when you enter the pit to change to dry tires, the remaining laps are not enough for you to catch up with the driver in front.

Therefore, doing so would be putting the cart before the horse and would be completely counterproductive.

Compared to the few people who are sitting firmly on the top in the points area, the drivers at the entrance of the points area in the back row are in a lot of confusion.

Hamilton was called into the pit by the Mercedes team's strategy team to change to dry tires, which pushed all the drivers at the back of the points zone to stop.

As for why they had to pit to change tires...

Because they are not in the points zone, there is no loss even if they bet wrong.

The race team also did something human after noticing that the drivers behind them had entered the pits one after another, turning on the DRS when the track was not completely dry.

If the competition was opened in advance, Qin Miao might have a headache.

However, DRS was turned on on lap 17.

At this time, there were only 7 laps left to the end of the race, and Verstappen's semi-rain tires had suffered considerable wear and tear on the track.

After all, his single lap speed in rainy conditions is still faster than Qin Miao. Although he knows that the possibility of him surpassing Qin Miao is very low, Verstappen still keeps trying to attack Qin Miao on the track in order to surpass him.

But they were all blocked by Qin Miao.

Therefore, Verstappen's set of semi-rain tires consumed a lot. Even if the DRS was turned on, Verstappen's single lap speed could not keep up with Qin Miao.

Not to mention that the characteristics of the W14 muscle car are particularly advantageous on the track.

So in the early stage of this sprint race, Qin Miao took advantage of the situation to get the first place, and then he drove the DRS train on the track. In the later stage, Qin Miao gradually widened the gap between himself and Verstappen, and got rid of all the unstable factors on his way to the championship of this sprint race.

In the end, Qin Miao crossed the finish line 5 seconds ahead of Verstappen and won the sprint race.

After the sprint race, the rankings and scores of the top 8 drivers are as follows:
P1: Qin Miao +8
P2: Verstappen +7
P3: Perez +6
P4: Sainz +5
P5: Stroll +4
P6: Alonso +3
P7: Hulkenberg +2
P8: Hamilton +1
Qin Miao had nothing to say. His position was completely helped by the two drivers of the Red Bull team.

And Verstappen and Perez...

It can only be said that under Qin Miao's control, there would be no exchange of positions between the two of them unless they gave up their positions voluntarily. The ranking of the second and third place was already determined the moment their internal fight eventually led to Qin Miao seizing the opportunity to overtake them.

Hamilton’s subsequent appearance really surprised Qin Miao.

After the race, the car was parked in the post-race interview area. Qin Miao found out after asking Hamilton when he got out of the car to rest.

The team allowed Hamilton to pit early and change to soft tires, and the race organizers also turned on DRS out of respect.

As a result, Hamilton was able to cut his way through the pack at the back of the track and overtake his way to eighth place.

After all, the W14 has a reputation for acceleration on straight roads, and if you don’t compare the W14 with the RB19, the W14 itself is a Mars rover.

It’s just that there is another RB14 in the paddock that is more rover-like than the W19, so the W14 seems so ordinary.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the W14 is chopping and dicing its way along the back of the track.

After this sprint race, Red Bull only shortened the points gap between itself and Mercedes by 4 points in the standings.

This is an acceptable result for Red Bull.

However, it is worth mentioning that after the race, Horner showed a sufficiently tolerant attitude towards the behavior of the two drivers on the track when he was interviewed by Sky Sports.

During the interview, Horner made it clear that the Red Bull team does not oppose internal competition among drivers, and said that the mistakes in the sprint race were just because the two drivers were too careless at the start, and the team would not punish the two drivers for this matter.

This matter was simply turned over.

As for losing the sprint championship due to internal competition...

Horner said: This is Qin Miao. No one can ignore the strength of the young two-time world champion and the influence he brings on the track.

I won’t go into details about the podium session after the competition.

It was just a sprint race, and the FIA ​​didn't make a big deal about it.

After the game was over and all post-game work was completed, Qin Miao clocked out.

(End of this chapter)