Chapter 1422 - 535: FIA’s Grooved Tracks!

Chapter 1422: Chapter 535: FIA’s Grooved Tracks!

So at this moment, the only thing Frankie could do besides constantly pressuring the team was to comfort Qin Miao through the team radio: "We all believe in your ability, you can do it, Lewis’s tires are already not working."

Hearing Frankie’s comfort, Qin Miao was a bit surprised that this situation did not have the team’s consent, but Qin Miao quickly realized that this was the consequence of informing Toto in advance about leaving Mercedes next season.

Of course, Qin Miao did not regret telling Toto about it back then, since it would have to be revealed sooner or later.

Moreover, strictly speaking, Qin Miao was already a two-time champion at a young age. Although he didn’t have as many world titles as teammate Hamilton, no one in the paddock dared to say his ability was inferior to Hamilton’s.

Even if Mercedes manipulated this season, it would at most result in a lose-lose scenario, with Qin Miao losing a world championship and Mercedes losing the chance to compete for the constructors’ championship this year.

But after this season ends, Qin Miao can still go to Ferrari for a high salary.

He has a backup plan.

Qin Miao couldn’t believe Toto, as a businessman, would be willing to give up such huge profits from the constructors’ championship.

Qin Miao followed closely behind Hamilton through two DRS zones, pressuring him the entire time.

For example, before each braking point in these relatively short DRS zones, Qin Miao would dart to the inside.

As long as Old Man wanted to defend against Qin Miao, he would certainly push to the limit, so whenever Qin Miao darted to the inside, Old Man would defend on the inside line.

Upon getting close to Hamilton, Hamilton would switch to the inside line to defend against Qin Miao’s attack at nearly every braking point in the DRS zones.

If Old Man completely ignored Qin Miao’s threat and just followed his own rhythm...

It would be fine, but the consequence would be losing a DRS zone to Qin Miao.

Just kidding, Qin Miao’s tires, though having run one more lap than Hamilton’s, had far more grip.

Qin Miao aimed to decisively cut off Hamilton and then pull away.

The pressure was also to deplete Hamilton’s tires and car power.

If Hamilton really dared to ignore Qin Miao’s darting, Qin Miao would leverage his tire grip to brake late and force his way into Hamilton’s inside line, showing Old Man what a true tire master is.

Though this entanglement was initiated by Hamilton, he couldn’t drop his guard against Qin Miao.

As for Qin Miao, after tailing Hamilton for a lap, he began his offensive between the DRS zones in T8 and T9 during lap 51.

Worth mentioning, before Qin Miao caught up to Hamilton, Old Man performed a brake test at the T6 position.

It was the kind Qin Miao used against Verstappen, suddenly slowing down in a corner combination when he couldn’t overtake.

This brake test clearly disrupted the following car’s rhythm and could somewhat affect the opponent’s mindset.

Moreover, at the time, Qin Miao was sticking very closely to Hamilton to ensure confidence for his attack in the upcoming DRS zone, with only about a 0.2-second gap between the two cars.

So Hamilton thought it would be hard for Qin Miao to evade his brake test.

It would surely significantly disrupt Qin Miao’s rhythm.

Despite knowing it was a bit unprincipled, it was Hamilton’s last resort; Qin Miao’s tire management was just too daunting for him to retain his current position.

As for the post-race matters, they would be discussed afterward.

And Qin Miao, although not anticipating Hamilton’s brake test, wasn’t thrown off rhythm.

Being young, even after over 50 laps of high-intensity racing, Qin Miao’s reflexes were still sharp. He braked almost instantly when he noticed Hamilton’s deceleration, exiting the corner even faster than Hamilton.

Before reaching the DRS activation point in T7, Qin Miao was already visibly closing the gap with Hamilton.

Observing from his rearview mirror, Hamilton saw this and suddenly smiled wryly, shaking his head in resignation inside the car.

A brake test that previously troubled many rookie drivers was effortlessly handled by Qin Miao, as if it were second nature to him.

Given Hamilton’s understanding of Qin Miao’s character, he guessed that Qin Miao wouldn’t complain to the team after the brake test.

And indeed, Hamilton guessed correctly.

Despite thinking Hamilton’s brake test was unprincipled, Qin Miao recognized it as part of the race, with no explicit FIA rule prohibiting it.

Besides, Qin Miao had used the same technique several times.

No blame was cast.

After this failed brake test, Old Man knew he couldn’t defend anymore.

So Old Man simply stopped defending Qin Miao and began running the race on the normal racing line.

And Qin Miao, even before opening the DRS, darted to the inside. By halfway through the DRS zone, he’d already taken over half a car length of Hamilton’s track position and fully overtook Hamilton 50 meters before the braking point.