Chapter 1521: Accidents Everywhere (8K, Repaying Yesterday’s Missed Update)_4

And this repair went on until the end of the first practice session.

The entire first practice session ran for only three minutes, and even Qin Miao and Hamilton, who were unfortunate enough, did not get out of the pit exit. Later, it was Frankie and his team who pushed Qin Miao and Hamilton’s cars back to the team’s box.

The remaining time in the first practice session was all under red flags, and all the spectators watching the practice session were watching groundhogs on the track.

Thus the first practice session ended hastily.

The race organizers knew that they were primarily responsible for this first practice session, and the fact that drivers missed a practice session not only resulted in a loss of speed but also posed safety hazards.

After all, not every driver is like Qin Miao, Hamilton, or Verstappen; there will always be some drivers who need a practice session to familiarize themselves with the track.

Therefore, the compensation from the race organizers was to start the second practice session thirty minutes early, increasing the originally one-hour practice session to one and a half hours.

The second practice session was not without incidents; in fact, accidents occurred frequently.

First, Hockenheim’s car caught fire, triggering a red flag.

Then, O’Kang’s car encountered a hydraulic failure, specifically a brake pedal issue, stopping on the track, which also triggered a red flag.

The only good news this time was that the event control center’s cameras did not malfunction after the red flag, so the race was not suspended. The bad news was that over time, the track’s sky began to cloud over, indicating imminent rain.

Before the end of the second practice session, it indeed began to rain on the track, and the rain could be described as torrential.

In a short amount of time, specific corners of the Villeneuve circuit became small pools.

When Qin Miao drove onto the track, he felt the underside of his car being displaced by the waves created by his tires.

Back in the team’s box, Qin Miao felt a bit troubled seeing the weather, but having accumulated a lot of rain racing experience through extensive practice, he still felt confident about today’s race.

Finally, the second practice session ended.

Eventually, Qin Miao and Hamilton ranked first and second.

This result was mainly due to the good performance of the two Mercedes drivers this race weekend, and the team first let the two drivers conduct long-distance testing on the track and then simulate qualifying before the rain intensified.

Most of the teams with the ability to compete for the top spots were testing at completely different times.

However, practice session rankings are at best for reference and have no actual significance.

Moreover, during the practice sessions, unexpected situations on the track continually interrupted many drivers’ rhythms with red flags.

To truly see each driver’s speed on this track, we’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s qualifying session.

After Friday ended, Qin Miao received news from the team’s meteorological department that there would be rain tomorrow too, and it would be as heavy as today’s when the second practice session ended.

Qin Miao was helpless, but to catch up with Verstappen in the points during this Grand Prix weekend, he could only invest all the 8 Skill Points he had saved this season into his Rain Combat Ability.

Now Qin Miao’s Rain Combat Ability is back to 90 points.

Interestingly, Qin Miao found that his rain racing talent limit seemed not to be 80 points.

This is because, as he spent a lot of time practicing rain racing, Qin Miao discovered his Rain Combat Ability eventually got stuck at 82 and did not decrease further.

Qin Miao speculated that his innate talent for Rain Combat Ability might really only be 80 points. After all, unlike Verstappen, he did not have advantageous conditions growing up, being trained by his dad in the rain from a young age.

Thus in the Rain Combat Ability, which is entirely based on feel, he indeed lagged a bit.

But through persistent efforts later, Qin Miao eventually broke through his talent ceiling.

The reason he is so sure is, of course, that Qin Miao also slacked off for a while.

It can’t be called slacking off; during the off-season, Qin Miao definitely didn’t want to train every day, and he needed to give his body and mind a break.

And during this time, Qin Miao barely touched any simulators, yet his Rain Combat Ability still remained at 82 points.

From this, Qin Miao drew his conclusion.

However, no matter what, the Skill Points have already been spent. If it continues to rain in the qualifying session of today’s race, Qin Miao would have the possibility of competing for pole position with Verstappen and Hamilton on the track.

The Villeneuve circuit looks to have a lot of straights on the map, which indeed seem quite suitable for the performance of the W14.

But in reality, only the second and third timing sectors really match the characteristics of the W14, and the rain helped compensate for this issue, as the typical high-power rear-drive W14 cannot fully exert its acceleration advantage when rear wheel grip is insufficient.

In fact, it even became a disadvantage because on a slippery track, before the speed picks up, the car is very slippery, and if you press the accelerator even a little too hard, the car will spin on the spot.

Saturday, the day when the third practice and qualifying begin.

Before the start of today’s third practice, the track was once again drenched in heavy rain.

At the beginning of the third practice session, Qin Miao used full wet tires for the first time this season.