Chapter 319: Chapter 163: Bahrain Grand Prix 1 (6K, Extra Release 24/27)
So if Qin Miao doesn’t hold his position, Hamilton can block all of Qin Miao’s entry lines with a late brake at T4.
There’s even a possibility that Leclerc behind them could take advantage, so Qin Miao gave the position to Hamilton.
From the outside, it looks like Hamilton exits the corner better than Qin Miao, gradually overtaking him at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Qin Miao~ Ah, what a pity.
Qin Miao’s exit speed wasn’t as fast as Hamilton’s, after the restart he fell to third."
"Still young, probably a bit nervous, hopefully Qin Miao will adjust his state well in the upcoming races."
Unlike the commentators’ concerns, Toto in the Mercedes garage, aside from the broadcast screen, can see the drivers’ throttle and brake lines. So Toto actually knows that this part was intentionally let by Qin Miao.
Honestly, as a boss, seeing this scene, Toto feels relieved.
Team orders generally leave a not-so-good impression on drivers, which easily creates friction between drivers and the team.
But for the team’s benefit, team orders have to be given.
After giving team orders, Toto and the team would certainly spend a lot of effort to reassure the driver.
Qin Miao’s understanding and considerate behavior genuinely increased his favorability in Toto’s mind.
In the ensuing few corners, the cars in front didn’t find any overtaking opportunities, and Qin Miao steadied his third position.
Though Leclerc behind made several probing attacks, they were just probing attacks. No matter how suddenly Leclerc made a late brake, Qin Miao knew he was bluffing, so he didn’t pay much attention and didn’t focus on his rearview mirror.
In defense, Qin Miao has considerable insight.
Qin Miao knows clearly when the opponent poses a real threat to him.
Though Qin Miao quickly let Hamilton pass, Hamilton couldn’t catch up with Verstappen, who was also on medium tires, and the gap between them extended to 0.4 seconds per lap.
So, at the end of the first lap, the gap between Verstappen and Hamilton reached one second.
Of course, we all know this speed isn’t quite right, it’s actually because Verstappen used up all the power in his battery to achieve this effect.
As for Qin Miao using soft tires, after letting Hamilton pass, he didn’t lose much speed and didn’t fall behind Hamilton, still staying in his slipstream after one lap.
As for Leclerc, after one lap he stopped probing because the gap between him and Qin Miao reached one second, directly being pushed out of the DRS zone, no matter how he gestured he couldn’t give Qin Miao any pressure.
This is actually the difference in the car.
Just when everyone thought the race officially began, and everyone started to enter cruising mode and began their mind games.
A safety car appeared on the track, but this time it was a virtual safety car.
Because Gasly’s front wing was knocked off, the track was full of debris, and it needed cleaning.
Fortunately, this virtual safety car didn’t last long, it was pulled away after 30 seconds.
DRS was also activated right after lap five.
It’s worth mentioning, after lap five, Hamilton asked on his TR: "Do I have a speed gap with Qin? Am I faster or slower than him?"
Although Hamilton’s question was sudden, his team engineer answered dutifully; "Qin is 0.4 seconds faster per lap."
Hamilton actually knows Qin Miao started on soft tires, so it’s normal for him to wonder if he’s faster than Qin Miao.
After getting this information, Hamilton didn’t say much more, but when the two Mercedes exited T3 one after the other, and came to the DRS zone between T3 and T4, Qin Miao activated his DRS quickly closing in on Hamilton, while Hamilton didn’t defend, just took a normal line, and Qin Miao completed a side-by-side in the middle of the straight, overtaking before the braking point.
During this time, Hamilton didn’t make any move, which can be understood as he directly let Qin Miao pass.
The director switched the broadcast to show the two Mercedes cars.
One is the seven-time champion, and the other is the F2 emperor, holder of the record for most wins, a record that is unlikely to be broken.
The topics and attention surrounding these two are substantial, so their footage receives special focus from the director.
"Hey, when Qin Miao used DRS to overtake Hamilton, Hamilton didn’t defend at all?"
"I think our focus shouldn’t be on Hamilton not defending Qin Miao, but on Qin Miao making his F1 debut with such performance, pole position start in the qualifying, and despite some minor flaws in the race phase, during the long distance, he wasn’t outpaced by his teammate Hamilton, and even managed to overtake. Let’s not forget his teammate is the seven-time champion Hamilton."
"This year’s race is going to be exciting, with Honda’s powerful engines and Mercedes’s two drivers being almost equal in strength, these three drivers are bound to put on a fierce battle on this year’s track."