And at turn T7 on the ninth lap, Latifi completed the overtake on Zhou Guanyu’s teammate.
This was mainly because the pressure from Latifi was too much. Zhou Guanyu’s teammate locked up the left front wheel while braking before the corner, causing his entry timing and speed to be off, and then Latifi used the crossover line to easily complete the overtake.
Meanwhile, Zhou Guanyu just followed behind the two cars, not really closing in, just watching from the back.
I have to say, by this point, Qin Miao could clearly feel the difference between F2 and F1. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fıre·net
Since the performance of F2 cars is basically the same, compared to F1, there will be more tussles between F2 drivers, with more opportunities for wheel-to-wheel combat.
Especially since the battle for first and second place in F2 is much fiercer than in F1.
After all, in today’s F1, once the race starts, the two Mercedes cars just blaze ahead, and shortly after, they leave their opponents out of the DRS zone, each following their own pace. By the end of a Grand Prix, each Mercedes can generally leave their opponents at least fifteen seconds behind.
In the twelfth lap, Zhou Guanyu’s teammate took back the position on the straight relying on the DRS and gradually widened the gap with Latifi over the next two laps.
Seeing this, the tension Qin Miao had been holding for Zhou Guanyu dissipated because, judging by the situation on the track, Zhou Guanyu’s teammate wasn’t going to have any more tussles with Latifi.
And Zhou Guanyu himself is slower than them, and now the two in front started clocking in regular lap times, so Zhou Guanyu had no more opportunities.
If nothing unexpected happens, Zhou Guanyu is expected to bring it home in P3 today.
But shortly after, an unexpected event occurred.
In the twentieth lap, when there were nine laps left in the race, Latifi’s teammate, Sergio, caught up with Zhou Guanyu.
Immediately, Sergio launched an attack on Zhou Guanyu.
The breath of relief Qin Miao just took suddenly tightened again.
Dropping from the P1 position to third, Qin Miao already felt pity for Zhou Guanyu, but if he can’t even hold on to the podium, it would be a huge loss.
Fortunately, Zhou Guanyu managed to hold his position, bringing the gap between the two cars to over a second by the twenty-third lap, preventing the opponent from using DRS.
There are still six laps left in the race, and if nothing unexpected happens, the final result of the race is set.
First place is Jiaoto, second is Latifi, and third is Zhou Guanyu.
And as expected, the gap between the top three widened, and at this point, all three were focused on maintaining their podium positions without making any more aggressive moves.
In the end, Zhou Guanyu started from pole position and finished in P3, while the fastest lap of the race came from Sergio, who finished in fourth.
The engineers from Zhou Guanyu’s team, like the F1 team’s staff, came near the command center to wave and celebrate with the trackside driver.
It’s worth mentioning that on the last lap at T16, Mazepin, who was in eighth place, got knocked out by the driver behind him, losing his original eighth position.
To be honest, it’s a bit tragic.
After the race ended, the top three F2 drivers drove their cars to the pit lane entrance.
This is today’s podium.
Qin Miao, being a VIP, had the privilege to join in the celebration with the drivers, and he wasn’t going to miss this chance, starting to rush towards the pit area as soon as the 28 laps were completed, managing to catch up just before the three F2 cars returned.
When Qin Miao arrived at the pit lane entrance, FIA staff had already set up barriers, and the podium markers for 1, 2, and 3 were in place at the entrance.
A number of team staff had also gathered around, eagerly waiting for their drivers to return.
Unlike the packed crowd after an F1 race, the area was quite empty after the F2 qualifier ended, with only a few VIP spectators wearing badges, team staff, and FIA staff with cameras in white vests present.
This is just how it is, although F2 has more battles than F1 and more drama and surprises, F2 will never garner the same attention as F1.
But it doesn’t matter, the fewer people here, the better for Qin Miao, as he could squeeze through the crowd with less effort.
He reached the fence easily.
Soon, the three drivers returned with their cars, and after parking, the first-place winner, Jiaoto, stood on his car, celebrating his victory with joy.
Zhou Guanyu didn’t seem as excited since he dropped from pole position to P3, which would inevitably leave him feeling a bit disappointed.
However, when Zhou Guanyu got off the car to celebrate with the team staff, he unexpectedly spotted Qin Miao.
Earlier in the morning, meeting at the gym, Zhou Guanyu thought Qin Miao would be watching from the stands, never expecting him to run here.
This year is just his first contact with F2; he doesn’t know many of the drivers well.
Even with his own teammate, Zhou Guanyu can only be considered an acquaintance.
Additionally, due to Zhou Guanyu’s nationality, he has often faced discrimination in Europe.