Chapter 1542 - 564: Qin Miao Gradually Masters Racing in the Rain

Chapter 1542: Chapter 564: Qin Miao Gradually Masters Racing in the Rain

As for second and first...

They are Perez and Verstappen.

Those two are ahead of Qin Miao purely due to their car performance, and Qin Miao doesn’t have a better solution.

The only noteworthy thing about the sprint qualifying is that Old Man didn’t even make it to Q3 today; he was eliminated in Q1.

Everyone knows the Red Bull Ring circuit is built in the mountainous region of Austria, and anyone living in the mountains should know how quickly the weather can change there.

The sky might be clear one moment, and the next, dark clouds can roll in and start raining within a few minutes.

Due to these changing mountain climates, a light rain fell on the Red Bull Ring circuit before the sprint qualifying started.

At the beginning of the race, the track was even wet.

Therefore, the drivers were somewhat affected in such an environment.

In this environment, the track conditions gradually improve, so all drivers in Q1 adopted the same approach as in rain combat qualifying, doing long-distance lap times consistently on the track.

Old Man naturally ran like this as well, and even his lap times were quite good. Just before the end of Q1, Old Man briefly hit first with a time of 1:06.624.

However, Old Man’s lap time was deleted shortly after, as he exceeded track limits at T9 and drove off the track.

Hamilton, aware that his time had been canceled, happened to be on his way back to the pit lane.

Now Hamilton’s tire condition is poor, the car’s battery is depleted, and upon receiving the bad news, Old Man had to try again for a flying lap with full power on the track.

Unfortunately, the car’s condition no longer allowed Hamilton to refresh his time on the track.

Ultimately, Old Man was eliminated in Q1 because of this.

Although Qin Miao also encountered traffic issues on the track, Qin Miao is inherently a driver with consistently stable speed over single laps, coupled with the car’s ability. Qin Miao ultimately entered Q3 safely at seventh place and secured a third-place starting position.

The procedure after the sprint qualifying is not too different from regular qualifying; it’s just that pole sitter Verstappen doesn’t get the small tire reward, and Pirelli gave him a specially made hat.

Meanwhile, Qin Miao and the second-place Perez only got an interview opportunity during this process, appearing more in front of the camera.

After resting for a period following the end of the sprint qualifying, we proceeded to the sprint race.

And then before the race began, it rained on the track.

Moreover, it was heavy rain.

Consequently, all drivers switched to intermediate tires before the race started.

When Qin Miao sat in the somewhat damp car seat, a chill suddenly surged from his rear.

As for why he felt this way...

It’s naturally because his rear got wet...

After all, during the preparation time before the race started, the car must have been rained on, and quite a bit of water entered Qin Miao’s car.

Even though the car seat has a vent to provide ventilation while draining water out, there are still water stains on the racing seat.

After moving his uncomfortable rear a bit, Qin Miao looked at the rain that showed no signs of receding. Glancing at his 90-point Rain Combat Ability, he was filled with confidence.

As long as Perez or Verstappen provides an opportunity in this race today, he has the chance to secure a good position.

Furthermore, with rain on the track now, there’s a risk of the race stopping if rain ceases, but the sprint race duration is not long. As long as he overtakes Verstappen and gets ahead on the track, keeping the defense in the rain will become easier for him.

Of course, this is just Qin Miao’s best-case scenario expectation for today’s sprint race.