Chapter 978 382: Pan: I Believe in Ferrari's Ability to Mess Things Up

The race is about to begin.

Qin Miao narrowed his eyes slightly, looking up at the signal lights above him.

All five red lights lit up.

All five red lights went out.

Qin Miao's reaction speed was still as if he was on cheat mode, his car moving slightly faster than Leclerc and Verstappen.

However, this difference was hard to notice due to the current positions of the drivers.

Even though Qin Miao's starting speed was faster than Leclerc and Verstappen, the advantage he gained in the starting phase was almost negligible due to tire disadvantages.

But at least, when reaching T1 after the start, Qin Miao did not lose his position because of his starting speed.

At T1, Qin Miao was on the inside line, following Leclerc into the corner.

Behind Qin Miao, with the performance of his soft tires, Verstappen braked late, trying to use the performance of his tires and car to forcefully overtake Qin Miao on the outside line at T1.

After all, he knew that Qin Miao's defensive and tire-preserving abilities were extraordinary. If he stayed behind Qin Miao after the start, the beginning phase of his race today would be very difficult.

Although Verstappen does not fear a challenge, avoiding a challenge whenever possible is preferable.

But Qin Miao's defense is characterized by its toughness.

Moreover, Qin Miao has no burden of winning the championship this season, so despite Verstappen's front wheel already reaching the left side of Qin Miao's car at T1,

how come you're not ahead of me at T2?

The line rights at T2 are mine!

Initially, Qin Miao thought Verstappen would voluntarily slow down to get behind him and wait for an opportunity.

Yet, before entering T2, Qin Miao glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that Verstappen was still stuck at his rear side, showing no intention of backing down.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't defended against Verstappen for a long time, causing Verstappen to forget what intensity Qin Miao's defense could be.

So, when entering the T2 corner, Qin Miao directly closed the door forcefully, squeezing Verstappen off the track.

Seeing Qin Miao slowly but steadily squeezing towards him, Verstappen had no choice but to run outside the track.

Thankfully, the outer side of T2 was not gravel or grass, but concrete, so Verstappen's car remained in control.

Even after being forced off the track, Verstappen returned to the track on the outside line, using a shorter exit distance to get ahead of Qin Miao.

Qin Miao, seeing Verstappen ahead of him, was full of confusion.

What? Is this how you play?

Do you really not fear being penalized by FIA?

What Qin Miao didn't know was that Verstappen immediately radioed his team.

Even if he was in the wrong, your driving style is too dangerous and obviously intentional!

Seeing Verstappen in front of him, Qin Miao felt anxious, worried about what would happen if Verstappen continued using this method to run away.

If Verstappen ran away, he would at most be penalized five seconds.

But surely, I can't chase Verstappen's five seconds.

Wouldn't this benefit Le the Fourth?

Despite having a good relationship privately with Leclerc, and not affecting his own ranking on the track, Qin Miao was always willing to help a friend on the track when beneficial for Leclerc.

But if not letting Verstappen pass could potentially lock in Verstappen's entire race,

While Qin Miao was puzzling over this, even starting to feel a bit regretful, an accident occurred on the track.

Although Hamilton's pace was good after the start, he was unable to move up a position due to obstruction from the car ahead.

In his tussle with Sainz, Hamilton lost some pace, allowing the pursuing Magelsen to attack after the corner.

This attack happened at a familiar corner for Hamilton, at T4 of the Catalonia track, where Hamilton's left rear tire collided with Magelsen's right rear tire on the outside line.

This collision caused Hamilton's left rear tire to damage and puncture.

While Magelsen, on the outside, with tires at the grip limit, was jolted into the air due to the crash and then drifted straight into the gravel buffer zone outside the track.

Hamilton's familiarity with this corner comes from some minor frictions between the seven-time and sixteen-time champions here.

Remember it was the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, where both Mercedes drivers started well and were at the top two but didn't relent before the T4 braking point.

They rear-ended each other and both retired from the race.

And this was the familiar spot, just with different people. How could Hamilton not be familiar?

Luckily, Magelsen was heading straight towards the gravel, and his rear wheels could still provide sufficient power due to the car's inertia.

Thus, despite entering the gravel, Magelsen managed to bumpily drive his car out.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after the collision with Magelsen, Hamilton's car speed began to drop significantly.