How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 484 - 215: Dutch National Team (Part 2)
After getting out, Verstappen appeared very frustrated, but he still walked over to his race car and picked up the steering wheel he had just thrown away in anger, and inserted it back into the car.
Verstappen then walked around the two rear wheels of his car before confirming that it was his left rear tire that had punctured.
Thinking about the championship within his grasp that was just lost like that, Verstappen was instantly seething with anger and fiercely kicked the deflated Pirelli tire with his right foot.
Regardless of the nicknames "Golden Right Foot" and "Dutch National Team" after this kick, Verstappen knew that the track was not safe after venting his frustration.
So, observing the situation on the track and making sure there were no cars on either side, he jogged across the track and returned to the pit lane.
After all, the crash site was just across the pit lane entrance, making it convenient to get back without needing to hitch a ride like Stroll did.
Speaking of Stroll, both drivers had left rear tire punctures, and both were on the straight in the third sector timing zone.
However, Stroll’s tire ran 31 laps, while Verstappen’s tire ran 33 laps, and the crash locations and wall-hit directions were different.
Therefore, it can be seen that the puncture was not an isolated incident, so the problem with the car or driver can be ruled out.
For the retirements of these two drivers, Pirelli bears the main responsibility.
It’s believed Pirelli tires won’t sell well in the Netherlands after Verstappen’s kick.
After running a lap behind the safety car, Qin Miao realized that if Verstappen retired due to the puncture, then his position would be first overall.
Moreover, given such a pattern, unless something unexpected happens, the safety car should lead the complete race, allowing him to naturally secure his second career Grand Prix victory.
Of course, although Qin Miao was highly confident that he would be the ultimate winner of this race.
But just like no one expected Verstappen to suddenly have a tire puncture while leading, Qin Miao also could not predict whether any accident would happen in the few laps led by the safety car.
So he did not pop the champagne halfway through, but rather patiently followed behind Merande, waiting for the safety car to take them through the race.
However, in the 48th lap, after running a lap under the safety car’s guidance, race officials felt the debris on the track was too much and difficult to clean, and since there were already two retirements due to tire failures, they changed the yellow flag to a red flag.
This turn of events made the previously happy Qin Miao’s heart skip a beat, damn those dog-ridden race officials, why not let the safety car just finish the race! Damn you!
The reason Qin Miao cursed the race officials in his heart was mainly that deploying a red flag now meant there would still be another restart later, meaning the race was not yet concluded and still held some suspense.
Although Qin Miao was unique among all the drivers, having a set of soft tires that had only run three laps still available.
And the Mercedes car could heat the tires easily, plus the Baku track was long, giving Qin Miao enough warm-up laps to get his tires to the right temperature.
But who would want to take risks when they could pocket the championship in peace?
But anyway, since the red flag was already out, Qin Miao could only follow the race officials’ wishes and drove his car back to the pit lane.
And at this time, the rankings of the top five drivers in the race were as follows:
1: Qin Miao
2: Perez
3: Hamilton
4: Vettel
5: Gasly
After parking the car, Reyes and the others, carrying equipment and towing the car, hurriedly ran to Qin Miao.
They were actually quite tired from running all the way, as the Mercedes team pit box was at the pit lane entrance, while Qin Miao parked at the pit lane exit, and they had run through the whole pit lane with equipment to catch up with Qin Miao.
After they arrived, Qin Miao turned off the car and climbed out of his position.
From the moment the red flag was raised to when it would be lifted, there was at least a half-hour gap, so Qin Miao could get out of the car, stretch a bit, and drink some water.
After taking off his helmet, Reyes came over, patted Qin Miao on the shoulder, and then went off to get busy with his own tasks. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
After handing over the helmet and other items to the team engineers for safekeeping, Qin Miao picked up a white cap with his number 66 printed on it and put it on.
Although Qin Miao usually doesn’t pay much attention to his hair, after a race, his hair is full of sweat, and appearing on camera like this wouldn’t look good, so he chose to wear a cap.
After all, as a public figure, both Qimeng and the Mercedes press officer Eliza have stressed to Qin Miao: In public, you must pay attention to your image because you represent not only yourself but also Mercedes and your sponsors’ image.
After getting out of the car, Qin Miao didn’t run around; the sun wasn’t too harsh at this time, so after unzipping his racing suit a bit, he sat on a small step to the right of his race car.
In no time, Barber came running over with a backpack in a hurry.
The contents of Barber’s bag were mostly Qin Miao’s personal items.
"Why so long?" By responsibility, Barber should have arrived with the Mercedes team staff at Qin Miao’s face, but for some reason, Barber appeared much later than expected.
Barber explained helplessly: "I saw the situation on track was static, the race was almost over, and my stomach was feeling a bit off, so I thought I’d go to the bathroom before the race ended and come back just in time to see you on the podium."
Upon saying this, Barber clapped his hands in frustration: "But who could have thought that while I was in the bathroom, Verstappen would crash into the wall due to a tire puncture."
Qin Miao wasn’t blaming Barber, just curious why he, who was never late, was a little late today.
Nodding to acknowledge the explanation, Qin Miao then reached for the water Barber handed over, took a sip, and from Barber’s bag, took out his phone and earbuds.
Just as he was about to pass the time and relax a bit, Qin Miao suddenly saw Frankie coming over.
So Qin Miao didn’t rush to put on his earbuds and waited for Frankie to arrive before asking: "Why are you here?"
Frankie said, "Nothing much, just came to check on how you’re doing, and remind you not to get nervous when the race restarts, stay calm."
Qin Miao wasn’t too concerned, thinking to himself that he’s not a child, and he never acts impulsively on the track.
After discussing business, Frankie added: "The soft tires need to be heated up a bit; we didn’t expect a red flag, so the warm blankets were removed early. They’re being reheated back at the team and will be sent over once the temperature is right."
Qin Miao nodded, acknowledging that there’s plenty of time with the red flag, and as long as he gets new tires before the race resumes, it’s fine.
"No problem, as long as there’s no malfunction, I don’t want to experience losing control on the track like Verstappen did."
"Don’t worry."
After chatting with Qin Miao for a few moments, Frankie returned to his workstation.
No sooner had Frankie left than Toto arrived.
Toto first had a chat with Old Man at Hamilton’s place and then headed over to Qin Miao.
Watching Toto walk over, Barber suddenly said to Qin Miao: "I feel like Toto might not have good news for you this time."
Even though Barber worked under Mercedes, and his salary came from the team, he knew his position was due to Qin Miao’s need for him, so most of the time, Barber maintained a correct stance.
However, Qin Miao didn’t say much about it, instead smiling as he went over to greet Toto.
"Qin Miao, you raced beautifully this time, far exceeding our expectations."
Toto immediately gave Qin Miao a hug and provided ample affirmation and praise for Qin Miao’s performance today.
"Glad I didn’t disappoint you." Qin Miao replied modestly with a grin.
