Chapter 340: Chapter 170: Qin the Second (6K, Extra Chapter 27/29)
The curb can’t provide the strong grip of the asphalt surface if you take the corner while pressing on it.
Exiting T18 is critical because it’s followed by a long straight, and a poor exit can cost you a lot of time here.
Qin Miao’s exit was impeccable, cutting the apex precisely and using the curb fully upon exit. The left tires were just at the edge but didn’t cross the white line.
Then, T19 was almost not a corner; after passing the DRS detection point, DRS was activated, and it was full throttle to the finish.
...
"Great! Next up is Qin Miao. Qin Miao’s speed in the last sector of Q3 is quite impressive. Both of the first two sectors were green and only 0.133 seconds behind Hamilton, who is currently in first place. The gap is minimal!"
The director then switched the camera to focus on Qin Miao.
Under the gaze of the director and the live audience, Qin Miao made a full sprint in the final sector, moving from seventh to first, with the last sector also purple, clocking in three thousandths of a second faster than his teammate Hamilton.
"Qin Miao! He’s suppressed his teammate once again in qualifying!"
"Although we all know Hamilton is likely holding something back, being able to briefly suppress his teammate Hamilton in qualifying is no easy feat."
After Qin Miao crossed the finish line, the three commentators from Five-Star Sports were genuinely happy for Qin Miao.
However, as the commentators from Five-Star Sports had guessed, Qin Miao’s result was beaten after Hamilton completed his final flying lap.
Qin Miao still starts in second place, just like in Bahrain, with his teammate Hamilton starting in first.
Perez is third, and Verstappen is fourth.
In today’s race, Verstappen made some errors in the first time sector, only managing a yellow time, so he ultimately did not surpass his teammate.
This was actually a small mistake by Verstappen, and without it, all top three positions in today’s race would have to shift back by one.
After the race, Frankie’s voice sounded in the TR: "Qin Miao, your final time is 1 minute 14.408 seconds, P2."
Upon hearing this, Qin Miao felt somewhat frustrated, after all, since he had already given his all but still couldn’t achieve the desired result.
...
During the time the three drivers returned to the pits after the qualifying, the commentators started discussing again.
"Today, Mercedes and Red Bull are starting in first, second, third, and fourth places, respectively, and tomorrow during the main race Verstappen will finally not be fighting alone."
"Yes, during Bahrain, the joint defense by Qin Miao and Hamilton indeed gave Verstappen quite a headache. Verstappen even described Qin Miao’s defensive skills as ’Incredible’ during a post-race interview. For a driver of Verstappen’s caliber to describe Qin Miao’s defensive capabilities with such incredulity in an interview shows how strong his defense truly is," Zhou Haoran said as he flipped through his notebook.
"Exactly, and for this reason, we believe tomorrow’s race will exceed our expectations. The focal points will be how Qin Miao defends against the two Red Bulls and how the Red Bulls plan to tackle Qin Miao."
"This year’s races are just too exciting. Although I really like Qin Miao and I hope he keeps getting better in F1, when I first heard Qin Miao joined the Mercedes team, I thought Hamilton might be fighting alone this year.
But Qin Miao’s performance on the track showed me why Toto is the team leader at Mercedes. His judgment is indeed impressive."
"Every compliment for Toto’s judgment feels like a stab in Ferrari’s side."
"Hahahaha~"
...
Qualifying finished, Qin Miao got out for the weigh-in.
After weighing in, Qin Miao turned to see Hamilton had also parked his car at pole position.
Qin Miao gave Hamilton a thumbs up from a distance, then turned around, smiling, to meet his team’s staff, fist-bumping with Frankie, and with each of his technicians.
And finally, Qin Miao saw his wife.
He walked over with a smile and gave her a hug: "Didn’t let you down, did I?"
Qimeng’s face bloomed with a smile, yet she playfully said, "I thought your result might be better, but second place is fine."
With mock frustration, Qin Miao tapped Qimeng’s nose, then accepted the Monster Logo cup from her hand.
After taking the cup, Qin Miao went with Hamilton and his crew for a simple celebration, and then headed for an interview.
The interview content was, in fact, the usual stuff, though more extensive.
After gaining experience during this period, Qin Miao had become very adept at pre-race and post-race interviews.
So he handled the interview without any pressure.
After Qin Miao’s interview, it was Perez’s turn.
After Perez, it was Hamilton’s turn; this was his first pole position of the year.
It was clear that he was very excited during the interview, as he habitually thanked the team staff for their support during this qualifying session.
Then the reporter asked about Hamilton’s new teammate, Qin Miao.