How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 504 - 223: The Terrifyingly Powerful Red Bull

Chapter 504: Chapter 223: The Terrifyingly Powerful Red Bull

Qin Miao caught up with Hamilton and didn’t hold back with his teammate, boldly overtaking him on the inside in the DRS zone on the main straight in the 50th lap.

Good tires really let you do anything.

And Verstappen was even more outrageous; before reaching the DRS zone, coming out of T9 on a short straight—it’s not even a typical overtaking spot—he directly overtook Hamilton on the inside while cornering.

Of course, Hamilton began to furiously complain over the TR. Anyone would feel bad if their first place held for most of the race was suddenly taken.

At this point, there were four laps left to finish the race.

At this point, Hamilton was no longer a threat to Verstappen and Qin Miao.

With Hamilton no longer a concern, Verstappen naturally focused all his efforts trying to secure the championship position for himself in the remaining four laps.

Everyone was sweating with tension.

Qin Miao started off very confident, planning to lock Verstappen out with his 100-point defense skills.

Then, with one lap left, in lap 52, Qin Miao gave a bit too much throttle coming out of T15, causing the car to wobble slightly.

This mistake made Qin Miao’s heart sink.

And then the situation Qin Miao wanted to avoid most happened; in the DRS zone on the main straight, Verstappen forced his way onto the inside line at T1 using DRS.

A late braking maneuver secured the line into T1, and at T2, Qin Miao attempted to fight back with a similar late braking move to reclaim his position.

But Verstappen shut the door on him at T2, forcing Qin Miao off the track and into the warning pillar.

Although it caused no damage to the car, it did slightly scratch the front wing paint, and the red and blue painted surface beside the Paul Ricard track had less grip than the asphalt.

Thus, Verstappen took Qin Miao’s position.

With only one lap left, Qin Miao tried counterattacking in the DRS zone between T7 and T8 but ultimately failed.

In the end, amid Toto’s furrowed brow and a dark cloud over the entire Mercedes team, the French Grand Prix concluded.

Red Bull’s Verstappen took home the championship, with Mercedes’ two drivers finishing second and third.

After the French Grand Prix, Qin Miao completed only one task: standing on the podium, and received two Purple Lotteries.

Thus, Qin Miao now has 10 Purple Lotteries, synthesized into a Golden Lottery, bringing his total Gold Lotteries to six.

After the race, Qin Miao was the most disappointed.

He experienced what Hamilton felt.

A championship slipped through his fingers, all because of a bit of arrogance and a small harmless mistake during the race.

But even such a small mistake cost Qin Miao a race win.

Crossing the finish line, Qin Miao really felt like slapping himself.

But being under the camera, Qin Miao didn’t lose his cool, having stayed in the paddock for so long.

Qin Miao encountered not only flowers and applause during his time in the paddock but also insults and personal attacks.

So he quickly adjusted his mindset.

On the other hand, Hamilton didn’t blame Qin Miao for not helping block Verstappen.

Thinking about it, when you have a faster car than your teammate, anyone would want to overtake if your teammate is right in front of you.

The track is not a place for sentiments.

Despite Hamilton’s bad mood post-race, when Qin Miao came to shake hands during the award ceremony, Hamilton didn’t refuse and patted Qin Miao on his back to comfort him.

Toto first went to file a complaint with the race stewards, believing Verstappen’s move on Qin Miao wasn’t entirely clean.

However, the stewards rejected Toto’s complaint, citing Verstappen’s prior track entry and his right to the line.

Ultimately, Red Bull’s Verstappen claimed another race win, tallying with Monaco; now Verstappen and Qin Miao both have two race wins.

After this race, driver rankings and scores are as follows:

P1: Verstappen +26 (fastest lap)

P2: Qin Miao +18

P3: Hamilton +15

P4: Perez +12

P5: Norris +10

P6: Ricardo +8

P7: Gasly +6

P8: Alonso +4

P9: Vettel +2

P10: Stroll +1

Ferrari scored nothing this race, and Leclerc even finished between two Alfa Romeo cars.

What’s it mean to be Ferrari #1 team, huh? (hands on hips)

Driver total points and rankings are as follows:

1: Qin Miao 120

2: Verstappen 116

3: Hamilton 115

4: Perez 74

5: Norris 68

6: Leclerc 52

7: Sainz 33

8: Ricardo 33

9: Gasly 32

10: Vettel 25

11: Alonso 16

12: O’Kang 11

13: Stroll 8

14: Tsunoda 6

15: Kimi 1

After this race, the overall standings didn’t change much, Qin Miao’s position remained unchanged, still leading the standings, while Verstappen exceeded Hamilton by one point, moving to second.