How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 1145: Chapter 433: In Ferrari, You Can Be Lifeless, But You Can’t Lack Life

Just as Qin Miao was anticipating Verstappen to pit for a tire change, an accident occurred on the track.

A yellow flag suddenly appeared in the first timing sector.

When the camera cut over, they discovered Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull car stopped on the concrete edge of the track.

Yuki Tsunoda reported to the team via TR: "There’s an issue with the car’s tires, they aren’t locked tightly!"

Although Tsunoda’s stopping position looked like a Matthew entrance, in reality, that entrance was completely sealed off. Therefore, if the issue Tsunoda reported was accurate, the race officials would definitely dispatch a safety car to handle Tsunoda’s vehicle. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

The Red Bull team was dumbfounded too. Based on telemetry data, Tsunoda’s car tires seemed perfectly fine—everything was accurate. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

After an urgent check, still finding nothing amiss, the Red Bull team responded via TR: "No issues with the tires, you can continue racing."

Since the team said so, Tsunoda, who only felt something was wrong with the car based on intuition, wasn’t sure if he was mistaken.

But then again, just leaving the car on the track wasn’t ideal, so Tsunoda restarted his car.

The yellow flag on the track was canceled.

During this period, Leclerc, who couldn’t catch up to Qin Miao, pitted to switch to hard tires.

With 26 laps left, Leclerc pitting to switch to hard tires at this point was essentially giving up today’s race.

In the same lap, Tsunoda pitted again, possibly concerned about a genuine issue with the car. After all, sometimes a driver’s first intuition is more reliable than telemetry data.

Tsunoda swapped a set of tires in the pit lane and had the safety belt re-secured with the help of the crew, only then was he released by the team.

But just after exiting the pit lane, Tsunoda reported again via TR: "It’s wrong, it’s wrong, there’s still an issue—I think the brake disc is cracked."

Finally, under the team’s instructions, Tsunoda parked his car on the grassy area and retired from the race.

Unlike the first stoppage, this time Tsunoda parked right by the Matthew exit.

Despite this, Tsunoda’s car was less than a meter from the track. So upon seeing the broadcast footage, Frankie immediately asked Qin Miao via TR: "Qin Miao, we expect the race officials to issue a safety car. How do you feel about the tire condition now? Do you need to pit for a tire change?"

At this moment, Qin Miao still had a set of brand-new soft tires and a set of brand-new medium tires in reserve. Pitting now for a tire change would be a surefire profitable trade, especially with 24 laps to go. Considering that Qin Miao’s car had at least 60KG less fuel compared to the beginning of the race, the car’s overall load was drastically lighter. A set of soft tires would certainly be enough for Qin Miao to complete the rest of the race.

Knowing there might be a safety car, Qin Miao contemplated pitting.

However, the race officials ultimately opted for a virtual safety car rather than a full safety car.

With a safety car, pitting for a tire change would minimize lost time by 12 seconds, but with just a virtual safety car, it would only save about 6 seconds.

Moreover, during a virtual safety car, the time gaps between drivers aren’t compressed. Considering Qin Miao felt his pace on track today was quite good, after weighing the options, Qin Miao decided not to pit for a tire change and remained on the track.