Chapter 1074: Chapter 410: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind (6K, Extra Update 13/19)_3

So now all Qin Miao can do is get as close as possible to Leclerc, and when he overtakes Verstappen, see if there’s an opportunity to overtake Verstappen as well.

Of course, if possible, Qin Miao wouldn’t mind overtaking both at once.

And that opportunity came quickly.

On lap 57, Leclerc finally found a chance, getting within 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen before the braking point at T3.

Verstappen, seeing this, naturally defended the inside line.

While Leclerc braked later on the outside line and entered the corner earlier than Verstappen.

Seeing this, Qin Miao already understood Leclerc’s attack intention.

He planned to execute a crossover line.

After all, Verstappen’s braking angle into the corner was too tight; his exit speed surely couldn’t match Leclerc’s more standard entry speed.

And Qin Miao realized, this was his chance to capitalize.

So Qin Miao also braked late on the outside line.

The front wings of Qin Miao’s car were almost touching the diffuser of Leclerc’s car, exiting the corner in nearly the same rhythm as Leclerc.

After exiting the corner, because Verstappen’s acceleration was delayed, Leclerc, with sufficient acceleration distance, directly surged ahead of Verstappen.

And it wasn’t just Leclerc who overtook Verstappen on the outside; Qin Miao also seized the opportunity of Verstappen’s momentary lapse.

Qin Miao, drafting behind Leclerc, similarly overtook Verstappen on the right side.

It was a clean overtake.

And it wasn’t the end.

It’s important to note that when Qin Miao exited the corner, he was almost glued to Leclerc’s car.

Despite a certain distance opening up due to acceleration, the gap was only 0.2 seconds.

This straight between T3 and T4 is a DRS zone.

And this 0.2-second gap was just enough for Qin Miao to build up car speed faster.

So just as Leclerc overtook Verstappen and was about to celebrate, he awkwardly found Qin Miao right behind him, sticking close.

Critical to note, he braked late in T3, so he was not only ahead of Qin Miao going through the DRS zone but was also ahead of Verstappen.

Leclerc wasn’t too worried about Verstappen as even if he has DRS, with a 0.6-second gap, catching up on the straight would be impossible.

But Qin Miao now on soft tires, with both DRS and slipstream, was unbeatable!

Then this season, even the fastest Ferrari in terms of acceleration and top speed was outpaced by Mercedes on the straight.

Before the braking point at T4, Qin Miao had completely overtaken Leclerc.

Entering T4 was a series of bends, and Qin Miao on soft tires took advantage as Leclerc, mentally unsettled after being overtaken, was directly dropped out of the DRS zone.

"Fuck! You thief!" Leclerc cursed over team radio, frustrated after holding position for so long only to see Qin Miao take first place.

You’re truly cunning!

The entire Ferrari pit wall had their heads in their hands, looking devastated.

At this point, Binotto couldn’t smile anymore.

Unlike the Ferrari team and fans, the Mercedes team and Qin Miao’s fans had grins they could hardly contain.

"Qin Miao! Seized the chance, overtook two! Now in first place!" Bing from Five-Star Sports stood up from his seat.

The focus of the race was on the battle between Leclerc and Verstappen, with little attention on Qin Miao. Even those who noticed him didn’t see much.

But, much like how Qin Miao surprised Leclerc and Verstappen, he gave the commentators a delightful surprise.

"Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. Qin Miao’s ability to seize opportunities is remarkable." Xia exclaimed in admiration at Qin Miao’s maneuver.

"I think Qin Miao’s overtake could easily be this season’s best overtake," Zhou Haoran chimed in, "Remember, after the qualifying, Pirelli provided data showing the Mercedes was 0.2 seconds slower per lap than Ferrari. Qin Miao’s presence here is largely due to his amazing tire management skills."

After Qin Miao took the lead, Frankie and Toto’s voices immediately came through the team radio.

"Great overtake, Qin Miao! But be sure to protect your tires; we’re counting on you," Frankie advised.

"Nice! Qin Miao! You fucking nailed it, just like that!" exclaimed Toto.

Yet, just after Qin Miao completed the double overtake and switched from attack to defense, a yellow flag suddenly appeared on the track.

When the live broadcast camera turned, Sainz’s car, running in its own rhythm, suddenly drove straight into the T4 runoff area.

The camera just managed to catch a plume of white smoke suddenly rising from Sainz’s engine area.

Of course, despite Sainz coasting to a stop at the T4 corner’s runoff area, the yellow flag was still displayed on track.