Chapter 1527: Do You Need to Use Your Brain to Drive? (6K, Extra Update 14/14)

After Russell landed, despite trying to save the car, the vehicle still lost control on the track.

Although the car was eventually brought under control.

The reason Russell managed to control it was because the car’s kinetic energy was absorbed by the impact when it hit the outer wall.

This collision also damaged the front wing and caused a puncture on the right rear tire.

As the successor of Latifi, Russell successfully brought out the safety car with this collision.

And at this moment, the four drivers in the front row were right behind the pit entrance.

If Russell had brought out the safety car a little later, Verstappen would have missed this nearly perfect pit window.

But amid Verstappen’s cursing, he still caught up with the safety car and successfully pitted for a tire change.

As for why Verstappen was grumbling despite getting a free tire change opportunity?

That’s because after the safety car appeared, the time gap he painstakingly built with Qin Miao would be compensated again.

Verstappen’s efforts for the previous 12 laps were in vain.

Just wondering if the Old Man would regret letting Qin Miao pass so easily.

And knowing a safety car appeared on the track, Qin Miao felt some regret too, damn, should have started on soft tires!

His soft tires clearly could be used as medium tires! Why did he get greedy for a one-stop strategy!

Of course, with things already like this, all Qin Miao could do was just complain a little and obediently return to the pits for a tire change.

And this double pit stop for the team was very comfortable for Qin Miao because he didn’t have to worry about losing his position.

The Old Man, on the other hand, was trying his best to widen the gap between himself and Qin Miao before pitting.

He was really afraid of being undercut by Alonso during the double pit stop.

Fortunately, this pit stop went smoothly without surprises.

Qin Miao changed to hard tires in 2.3 seconds, and just after leaving the tire change spot, Hamilton seamlessly followed.

Changing to hard tires took 2.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than Qin Miao.

It was probably because with Qin Miao ahead for practice, everyone got into the groove with the tire change.

In sum, the Mercedes drivers didn’t fumble during the tire change, and after returning to the track, the initially daunting time gap between Qin Miao and Verstappen reset to zero.

No matter what Verstappen thought, for Qin Miao, he never felt that seeing the Red Bull car in front of him was such a warm sight in any race.

Besides, there were quite a few eye-catching moves on the track.

First, Ferrari directly gave up the safe pit stop benefit; neither driver went in for a tire change, continuing on medium tires.

After the race, many fans expressed they felt Ferrari’s strategy group was finally functional for once.

Besides the two Ferrari drivers, Perez, Magelsen, and Bottas also skipped pitting.

As a result, they gained many positions.

Zhou Guanyu, capitalizing on the safety car benefit, jumped from 19th to 14th, gaining five positions just like that.

Meanwhile, the three who pitted to change tires before the safety car fell to the back of the pack.

Honestly, those three had nowhere to cry.

On lap 16, the safety car pulled off, and the race was about to restart.

Qin Miao focused on Verstappen from the start.

He waited for the first moment after the race restart to take down Verstappen on track.

Then, Pan accelerated only after exiting T14, and the main straight was short and lacked DRS, making it hard for Qin Miao to catch Verstappen.

When Verstappen reached T1 and T2, the frightful cornering speed of the RB19 was fully displayed, shaking off Qin Miao by 0.8 seconds in two corners.

Qin Miao was left in shock.

Over the top, dude!

The race continued normally afterward.

Verstappen kept extending the time gap with the drivers behind him.

Practically pulling away by a second per lap.

Red Bull’s strategy group judged that Qin Miao likely wouldn’t pit for a tire change in the second half of this race. With Qin Miao’s tire-saving capability, he could finish the rest of the race on one set of hard tires.

For Verstappen, who definitely needs a second pit stop, it was about creating a pit window between himself and Qin Miao.

This would give Verstappen more options.

If there is no pit window, given the Villeneuve track, the characteristics of the W14, and Qin Miao’s incredible defense, as long as Verstappen falls behind Qin Miao, although overtaking isn’t impossible, it becomes very difficult.

If indeed a pit window is opened, Verstappen would have it much easier, with no need to face Qin Miao’s defense. He can focus on finishing the race at full speed after leaving the pit lane.

Verstappen executed this well, and by lap 32, the time gap between him and Qin Miao had widened to 12 seconds.

This gap is indeed daunting, as it means that while driving the Red Bull, Verstappen was essentially holding back.

Now, Red Bull truly showcases its horns to spectators and FIA staff, revealing the performance gap between Red Bull cars and those of other teams.

Meanwhile, on lap 32, Hockenheim pitted for a tire change.