Chapter 1391 - 523: Reconciling with Oneself (Part 2)

Chapter 1391: Chapter 523: Reconciling with Oneself (Part 2)

Qin Miao felt a bit relieved after contemplating these thoughts.

The two practice sessions on Friday put Qin Miao back into a regular work routine.

It’s worth mentioning that the Jeddah Circuit underwent modifications this season.

First, the barriers at turns 8, 10, 14, and 20 were optimized by moving them outward slightly.

After all, strictly speaking, Jeddah counts as a street track, with minimal buffer zones on either side, aside from limited buffer areas; the rest is surrounded by barriers.

This is why drivers like Mick and Latifi tend to have big accidents when they crash.

Before the modification, these turns affected drivers’ visibility of the track ahead.

During last year’s practice sessions, drivers encountered slow cars around these streets when running flying laps, so they couldn’t see anyone before entering the turn, forcing them to slow down and abandon their lap after entering the turn.

Many drivers were penalized for this.

Qin Miao didn’t feel this issue; firstly, the Mercedes team managed Qin Miao’s track timing well, and secondly, Frankie was diligent in informing Qin Miao of incoming cars and potential driver encounters around turns ahead.

Being prepared, Qin Miao had sufficient mental readiness and response time even when encountering slow cars on the track.

Additionally, the shoulders along the entire track were optimized.

They changed the original steel shoulders to sloped shoulders.

Meanwhile, the S-shape at turns 22 and 23 tightened, reducing the speed through the turn by 50 km/h.

Previously, drivers could fully accelerate after entering turn 22, but after this adjustment, although they could still accelerate, they couldn’t just floor the pedal and max the car out.

Due to these new changes, Qin Miao focused primarily on the third time segment for today’s practice session, fully familiarizing himself with these two turn changes.

And also looked into today’s race setup accordingly.

The results were relatively satisfying.

Though in terms of rankings, the Mercedes drivers’ results weren’t as good as Red Bull’s Verstappen and Perez.

But at least in the data from Friday’s two practice sessions, Qin Miao and Hamilton’s long-distance lap times were only 0.14 seconds slower compared to Red Bull’s drivers.

This time gap signifies the possibility for both to still pursue Red Bull.

Of course, practice results can only be referenced since you never know how much the opponents might limit their engine output power to consider the longevity of car components during practice.

Friday’s work concluded with post-race interviews completed.

Qin Miao’s day of work was finished.

After this time, Qin Miao had mastered the nuances of turns 22 and 23 completely, even having Hamilton come over to inquire about Qin Miao’s approach to these continuous combination turns.

Naturally, Hamilton wasn’t clueless; he just wanted to understand Qin Miao’s approach to see if there was room for improvement in his own approach.

Saturday.

Today, Qin Miao liberated the 50 horsepower limitation on his engine from Friday, needing to thoroughly familiarize himself with his car during the third practice session.

Then achieve good results in qualifying.

Obviously, for Qin Miao and Hamilton, this wasn’t a difficult task.

There’s no need to elaborate on the third practice because Qin Miao smoothly completed all his practice session tasks.

Even finishing early enough to wrap up a few minutes ahead of schedule.

As night fell, it was the local time in Bahrain.

For domestic fans in the Middle East, particularly night races, the Grand Prix timings felt hauntingly late.

Tonight’s qualifying session was scheduled for just after 1 AM domestic time.

Fei’s age really caught up to him, unable to stay up.

So tonight’s qualifying and tomorrow’s race will be covered by Libao.

...

"The weather department just sent news; there’s zero chance of rain for today’s race, but the north wind is strong."

Qin Miao listened as Frankie reported conditions on the track through the team radio, checking the various components of the car simultaneously.

After Frankie finished speaking, Qin Miao asked, "What’s the wind speed?"

"At least 25 km/h."

Marina Bay Circuit’s barriers on both sides somewhat shield the cars on track from seaside crosswinds.

However, organizers can’t make barriers fully enclosed to block all winds.

After weakening the wind, it hits the track at roughly 10 km/h.

Qin Miao mentally calculated, adjusting the braking points for each turn based on the speed upon reaching them.

The braking point for facing winds is chosen later, and for tailwinds, chosen earlier.

Sitting in the car awaiting the start of qualifying, Qin Miao had already calculated the braking points across the track based on the day’s weather conditions.

In the first flying lap during qualifying, besides aiming for a good result, Qin Miao also set aside some margin to verify his calculations.

With the Rolex clock at the pit lane exit pointing to 7 PM local time, the green light at the pit lane turned on.

Drivers eagerly waiting at the pit lane exit released brakes and clutches, driving their cars forward.

Qualifying commenced.

In the first flying lap, Qin Miao used a set of old soft tires that ran 4 laps during the first practice.

No need to elaborate about using these tires now; they allowed Qin Miao to test the track’s depth and also get back into race mode.

Despite some blockage due to track congestion, Qin Miao clocked 1:29.729.

This time wasn’t extraordinary, but considering the old tires’ performance, this was satisfying enough.

Moreover, this time secured Qin Miao’s entry into Q2.

Knowing the result guaranteed entry into Q2, Qin Miao wrapped up early.

Fans weren’t surprised seeing Qin Miao return to the team’s garage post one lap.

Ultimately, drivers eliminated in Q1 were: Tsunoda, Albon, De Vries, Russell, Norris.

Q2 quickly followed.

Today, Qin Miao remained steady in Q2, using a set of soft tires that already ran 5 laps, the least-used set among his tire reserves.

The lap performance had colleagues scratching their heads.

Because Qin Miao clocked 1:29.499 during this flying lap.

While unlikely to advance to Q3 with this time, running the lap using old tires showcased Qin Miao’s exceptional tire preservation skills.

Naturally, Qin Miao ventured out again for a second flying lap in Q2.

Switching to new soft tires felt bittersweet, without being able to save four brand-new soft tires for Q3.

Having new tires left nothing to say.

In one flying lap, even without using full power, engine limiters still capped 20hp.

Nevertheless, Qin Miao’s lap landed him straight into first.

1:28.435.

This time was 0.2 seconds faster than Perez’s in second place.

Although everyone knew Red Bull hadn’t unleashed their full power, Qin Miao was holding back as well.

Besides, they received good news when Verstappen encountered mechanical issues in Q2.

With no result from Q2, Verstappen was eliminated in fifteenth place.

Drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Gasly, Hockenheim, Magelsen, Bottas, Verstappen.

Zhou Guanyu once again outperformed his teammate in qualifying, advancing to Q3, bringing a smile to domestic fans’ faces.