This isn’t because Qin Miao is fast enough to see Hamilton and Verstappen battling ahead; it’s because he sees Mazepin in front.
When he was in F2, Qin Miao lapped half the drivers on the F2 circuit, but never had the chance to lap the Russian oligarch’s son Mazepin.
As for Bahrain... Mazepin crashed himself out of that race, so overtaking him didn’t count.
What’s even more ridiculous is that Mazepin is currently the slowest driver in the field, and his teammate Mick Schumacher, after hitting something and spending over twenty seconds in the pits to fix his front wing, still emerged ahead of him by more than twenty seconds.
This guy really came here just to experience life...
By the seventeenth lap, there’s at least a five-second gap between Qin Miao and Mazepin. Despite Qin Miao being about 1.2 seconds faster per lap than Mazepin, he can’t catch him in the short term.
However, as the track gradually dries, Qin Miao’s dry setup begins to take effect. Although Leclerc still has a 0.2 second advantage over Qin Miao, this advantage isn’t enough for Leclerc to break through Qin Miao’s defense.
Qin Miao is confident that as long as the single-lap speed difference is not greater than 0.7 seconds, he can block the opponent. If it’s less than 2 seconds, Qin Miao can try to defend, although these numbers depend on the track.
After several attempts to overtake Qin Miao in the second and third sectors, Leclerc ultimately gives up because, as long as Qin Miao doesn’t make mistakes, he can’t effectively attack Qin Miao.
Looking at the car ahead, which he can catch up to but can’t overtake, Leclerc can’t help but feel a bit frustrated inside.
He’s faster than Qin Miao, and if the conditions were dry, his team could choose a suitable timing to call him into the pits for a tire change, trying to undercut Qin Miao. But that’s not possible right now because there’s still water on the track, and it’s gradually drying up.
Changing to dry tires won’t provide enough grip in the short term, and changing to wet tires isn’t necessary because the track will soon dry up.
So, Leclerc can only sullenly follow behind Qin Miao’s car, eating dust. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel fire.net
By the nineteenth lap, the top four positions remain unchanged. Hamilton continues to lead, but Verstappen stays within 1 second behind, applying pressure, ready to overtake at the slightest mistake.
While in fourth, Leclerc eyes Qin Miao’s position with the same intensity but is blocked firmly behind Qin Miao, unable to overtake, unlike Verstappen.
The time gap between the first and second groups has reached a terrifying 19 seconds.
This is mainly because Qin Miao and Leclerc are embroiled in a combat situation. Without Leclerc’s interference, Qin Miao’s gap with the front group should be within 10 seconds.
Fortunately, Perez in fifth is still 7 seconds behind them and can’t catch up in the short term.
By the twenty-first lap, knowing his attacks pose no threat to Qin Miao, Leclerc finally stops attempting to overtake and starts conserving tires, applying pressure only during innocuous moments.
No matter how good the off-track relations might be, within the circuit, no one holds back.
Another reason Leclerc can’t catch up with Qin Miao is due to extended driving wearing out his tires significantly. The tread on his intermediate tires is almost gone, and with the drying track, the tires are overheating, causing graininess and a lack of grip among various issues.
Qin Miao’s tires, however, still have clear tread. Although they are slightly overheated, it’s not severe enough to affect Qin Miao’s driving.
However, in the twenty-second lap, someone finally thinks the track condition is suitable for a tire change and goes into the pits.
The driver who first rings the pit change bell is Aston Martin’s Vettel.
PS. Xiaozhou’s P1 in qualifying’s first session update is complete. Later, I’ll calculate the rewards and monthly ticket updates for this month...