How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 897 - 354: Opening Race Bahrain

Therefore, during all three qualifying sessions, all drivers can use soft tires for lap times, and during the race, they can also use new tires.

Finally, no more such constraints, which is good news for Qin Miao.

Soon, time moved on to qualifying Q1.

After the 15-minute countdown began, all the teams' drivers gradually left their pits and went onto the track.

However, on the Mercedes side, both Hamilton and Qin Miao didn't go out immediately; they stayed in the team's pitroom until there were 9 minutes left in Q1 before being released.

An old Mercedes tradition.

By that time, the two Red Bull drivers had already occupied the first and second places.

It's worth mentioning that when Qin Miao and Hamilton were running warm-up laps, Bottas, who hadn't touched a race car for a year, hit the track and on his second flying lap, reached second place, surpassing Perez and trailing Verstappen.

Although Bottas didn't stay in that position for long before being pushed down by the two Ferrari drivers, his immediate performance upon returning to the paddock showed that Bottas still had his edge.

As for whether Bottas' outstanding performance would slap Ferrari in the face as Qin Miao did last season...

That's basically non-existent because everyone knows the strength gap between Bottas and Hamilton, whereas last season Qin Miao won the world championship by surpassing his teammate Hamilton and Verstappen.

This world championship sufficiently demonstrates the terrifying personal strength of Qin Miao.

At this moment, the two Mercedes cars began their first flying lap.

With 6 minutes left in Q1, the two Mercedes drivers crossed the finish line one after the other.

Since Qin Miao went out before Hamilton, his time was posted first, 1:32.317.

The defending champion's time placed him in 8th, even behind Alonso.

As if not finished, Hamilton followed closely behind Qin Miao, and it was clear his speed was slightly faster, yet Hamilton's time was only 1:32.085, slower than his former teammate Bottas by a full 0.248 seconds.

This result left everyone in the paddock and beyond surprised, and even over at Red Bull, they exchanged slightly bewildered glances.

Despite the unexpected results, no one thought Mercedes' cars were deficient, as Mercedes has long presented an enigmatic presence in the paddock, with many people thinking they were simply hiding their capability once again.

With about 5 minutes left in Q1, most teams called their drivers back to adjust their car settings. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Meanwhile, the two Mercedes drivers took advantage of the clear track to run another flying lap, even using the old soft tires.

Hamilton was unable to improve his time, but Qin Miao, thanks to his extraordinary tire conservation skills, actually improved his time, posting a lap of 1:31.987.

Just so, he moved up above his teammate Hamilton in rank.

After completing this lap, although there were still over three minutes left in Q1, both Mercedes drivers opted to return to the team pitroom, choosing not to go out for another flying lap.

Even though the scores of the two Mercedes drivers were not impressive, they both steadily progressed to Q2.

While domestic fans might feel it's a pity not to see Qin Miao unleash his full power, it seems that Qin Miao has always been like this, and they are somewhat used to it.

Moreover, aside from Qin Miao, isn't there still Zhou Guanyu on the track?

Compared to the steady and conservative approach of Mercedes during Q1 and Q2, Zhou Guanyu's qualifying seems far more exciting?