How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 908 - 359: Providence Opportunity

After Hamilton lost his target ahead, Qin Miao was now 20 seconds behind Perez, with Magelsen 12 seconds behind him.

Positioned in the middle, Qin Miao was literally in no man's land.

Since there was no pressure, he couldn't catch up, and his position wasn't threatened, Qin Miao decided to cruise.

On lap 31, Verstappen opened his second pit stop window earlier than Ferrari and Mercedes had expected.

Mercedes' strategy group immediately suspected that they were preparing for a three-stop strategy.

After all, choosing to pit on lap 31 was a bit too early, given there were 26 laps left before the race ended.

Judging from the soft tire's pit window, they could only last about 14-15 laps, while the medium tires last 20-22 laps.

The final laps would see the tires reach a cliff point where grip drops rapidly.

So, there's a high possibility that Red Bull would opt for a three-stop strategy, considering not everyone has Qin Miao's extreme tire-saving skills.

The most crucial point being, if they went for a three-stop strategy, Qin Miao might really have a chance to snatch a podium place from Red Bull and Ferrari.

Of course, Mercedes just identified this possibility and were not sure of Red Bull's strategy.

The decisive factor would be what tires they fitted; if they fitted hard tires like Qin Miao, Red Bull's strategy would still be a two-stop.

Then everyone saw Verstappen fitted medium tires and raced out of the pit lane.

Seeing this, almost everyone focused on Red Bull and Ferrari realized that Verstappen was still not satisfied with second place.

He intended to open the pit window earlier and look for an opportunity to undercut Leclerc.

What everyone didn't know was that Red Bull actually still intended a two-stop strategy, so after Verstappen came out, the team instructed him to slow down a bit on his out lap if possible.

Naturally, Verstappen complied and didn't push too hard on his out lap.

Ferrari's biggest rival in this race was Red Bull, so right after Verstappen pitted, Ferrari copied Red Bull's strategy, calling Leclerc into the pit lane on lap 32, fitting him with medium tires, just like Verstappen.

As Leclerc exited the pit lane, he positioned himself 1.1 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

Verstappen wasn't happy with this.

If it weren't for the team's instructions, he would have definitely pushed to the limit as he exited the pit lane, potentially undercutting Leclerc.

But now, without pushing hard, the earlier four-second gap with Leclerc was reduced to 1.1 seconds.

This made Verstappen instantly feel backstabbed by his team.

At this moment, Verstappen even recalled last year's final race, standing on the podium but feeling no joy, only bitterness and a sense of loss.

Looking at Qin Miao celebrating on the highest podium beside him, the feeling intensified.

So Verstappen started complaining internally through team radio, and his tone wasn't friendly.

Behind them was Qin Miao.

But Qin Miao could only see the taillights of their cars from afar and then gradually got left behind. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The initial gap between Qin Miao and Perez, in fourth, was 20 seconds, and the gap to Leclerc in first expanded to 32 seconds, while it was 28 seconds to Verstappen.

Given such a massive gap, even with Verstappen exiting the pit lane first, he was positioned 7 seconds ahead of Qin Miao, let alone Verstappen ahead.

However, the team radio message delivered some hope to Qin Miao.

"Qin Miao, keep an eye out; we suspect Red Bull and Ferrari might make Verstappen and Leclerc pit three times. We have a chance, protect the tires and let's see what we can wait for."

Initially driving on autopilot, leisurely laps turned to serious racing as Qin Miao snapped out of it due to this reminder.

"Got it, my tire condition is pretty good, and there's definitely a possibility. It depends on whether they will give me the chance."

The race officials then released Verstappen's team radio message from when he exited the pit lane, which was about complaining he missed a prime opportunity to overtake Leclerc.

The officials then released Qin Miao and Frankie's team radio.

"Oh? Does Mercedes think Qin Miao has a chance?"

Hearing this team radio, Chinese fans and commentators, who were initially disappointed by Mercedes' performance, felt a moderate surprise.

Bing adjusted his posture with anticipation and said, "Mercedes thinks Qin Miao has a noteworthy chance in this race; we can also look forward to whether Qin Miao can bring some surprises with his renowned tire-saving skills."

...

In lap 34, Sainz and Perez also chose to pit on the same lap.

After exiting the pit lane, both drivers still managed to be ahead of Qin Miao.

However, they didn't have as much of a time advantage compared to Leclerc and Verstappen, one positioned 5 seconds ahead and another 1.3 seconds ahead of Qin Miao.