How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 1101: Chapter 419: Esteban "Good Teammate" O’Kang (6K, Extra Chapter 2/17)_2

The Hungarian Grand Prix circuit is almost like an old friend to Qin Miao, with countless memorable moments born on this track.

Most importantly, the Hengelo circuit is, aside from Monaco, the most challenging track for overtaking this season.

Therefore, with Qin Miao’s defensive capabilities, he definitely has the chance to secure a good position. The only concern is that Mercedes didn’t bring any upgrades for its drivers in this race.

Qin Miao’s familiarity with this track actually began with F1; last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix was his first official race on this circuit.

Normally, according to the regular schedule, the Hengelo circuit also hosts F2 and F3 races.

Unfortunately, when Qin Miao entered F2, it was during the pandemic, which halted many races, and so many circuits were only accessed by Qin Miao after entering F1.

Unlike Qin Miao, Zhou Guanyu, who entered F2 in 2019, had already raced on this circuit back then. However, Zhou Guanyu’s performance wasn’t as outstanding as Qin Miao’s in his first year in F2, so his results were only considered excellent for a newcomer.

After landing, Qin Miao first went to the hotel arranged by the team, and after settling in, he went to the paddock.

On the following Thursday and Friday, Qin Miao focused primarily on work.

Time quickly moved to Saturday afternoon, just before the start of the qualifying session.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Qin Miao’s bad luck from the previous race carried over. Apart from the fair weather on Friday, it started raining on Saturday. Though the rain wasn’t heavy and quickly stopped, it continued intermittently.

The track temperature also dropped significantly.

By the time the practice for qualifying began, visible water patches were evident on the track.

Fortunately, when qualifying started, there was no rain, so drivers continued using soft tires to set lap times.

In the qualifying stage, both Qin Miao and Hamilton were very consistent, with their first timed laps ensuring entry into Q2. Qin Miao even had time to go back to the team’s pit room and take a bathroom break.

Drivers eliminated in Q1 were: Stroll, Tsunoda, Albon, Vettel, and Gasly.

Zhou Guanyu and Bottas both advanced easily into Q2.

During Q2, both Qin Miao and Hamilton’s season-long characteristic of stability enabled them to glide seamlessly into Q3.

Meanwhile, Perez’s fastest lap was disqualified for exceeding track limits, and his first timed lap was hampered by slow traffic, leading to an unimpressive result and eliminating him at 12th position.

Drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Bottas, Perez, Russell, Magelsen, and Mick.

That’s right, Zhou Guanyu made it to Q3 today.

But strictly speaking, it was Perez who missed the opportunity, allowing Zhou Guanyu to enter Q3.

Without Perez, Zhou Guanyu would remain a gatekeeper of Q3.

Just as everyone thought today’s Q3 would be a Red Bull solo challenge against Ferrari, with a battle against Mercedes unfolding,

Q3 had barely begun when Verstappen’s car was called back for an engine temperature anomaly detected by the telemetry team.

After confirming no issues, Red Bull released Verstappen again, but his speed declined sharply, making it impossible to set a competitive time.

As a result, Verstappen ended up with the last place in Q3. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

This made Q3 a showcase for Mercedes and Ferrari.

During the final flying lap of Q3, while Qin Miao was still on his warm-up lap, Frankie informed Qin Miao: "Hamilton’s DRS system failed during the last flying lap and wouldn’t open..."

Qin Miao: ...

"How about my car?"

"We just checked, there’s no problem with your car. You can complete your last flying lap with confidence."

...

Hamilton’s car issue didn’t affect Qin Miao’s performance.

On the track’s final flying lap, even without Hamilton’s slipstream, Qin Miao clocked his fastest lap times over three circuits, including a purple sector in the third timing zone, finishing at 1:17.287.

Qin Miao’s time outpaced Sainz in second place by a full 0.2 seconds.

The final qualifying standings for the Hungarian Grand Prix are as follows:

1: Qin Miao

2: Sainz

3: Leclerc

4: Norris

5: O’Kang

6: Alonso

7: Hamilton

8: Zhou Guanyu

9: Ricardo

10: Verstappen

After achieving this result, Qin Miao felt happy for a moment, but honestly, this achievement wasn’t worth a grand celebration for him. He has become accustomed to such honors.

After thanking the team staff over the team radio, Qin Miao’s main tasks for the day were nearly complete.

The subsequent schedule involved interviews, awards, and a post-race press conference.

Qin Miao handled these responsibilities with ease as well.