How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Compared to the chaos of Q1, Q2 was a straightforward process once preparations were made.

The drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Albon, Gasly, Vettel, Ricardo, Stroll.

And Qin Miao advanced with the top score in Q2.

Many fans who regularly watch Qin Miao’s races were stunned by Qin Miao’s performance:

[Unfamiliar, so unfamiliar]

[Unusual ranking]

[Qin Miao, where’s your composure?]

[First? Did Qin Miao take pole position?]

...

Of course, most spectators were just teasing, with no malice toward Qin Miao.

However, as time moved to Q3, the situation on the track became somewhat magical.

As Q3 began, Ferrari had Leclerc switch to intermediate tires and head onto the track.

Ferrari’s strategy was simple: by the season’s end, they were secure in third place, unable to catch Red Bull and Mercedes, so they could try unconventional pit strategies and choices.

They didn’t expect much in terms of team rankings, but they still wanted to try for a sprint race win or something.

However, regarding Perez, who is only 8 points behind Leclerc, will he threaten Leclerc’s ranking?

By the end of the season, Perez was essentially done, providing no pressure to Leclerc on the track, so for Ferrari, it was only a matter of time before Leclerc pulled ahead in the standings.

Therefore, they had no concerns about this.

But because of Ferrari’s decision, a curious sight appeared during Q3.

The live broadcast naturally fixed all the cameras on Leclerc during the early part of Q3.

After all, when everyone was using dry tires, who else would you watch if not the one using intermediate tires?

But Ferrari, they’ve always had a knack for betting poorly.

So when Leclerc began his flying lap, his speed was astonishingly slow, even getting overtaken by Perez, who was also on a flying lap behind him.

Speaking of Perez, he had a hard time too, trying to run a proper flying lap only to find someone on intermediate tires in front.

If you’re performing badly, that’s one thing, but to mess with me too, that’s just wicked!

So after Leclerc ran two laps on the track, Ferrari finally understood how naive their approach was and called him back.

But just as Leclerc switched to soft tires and left the pit lane, the rain on the track intensified, with the trend of worsening.

Ferrari: ...

Leclerc: ...

The funny part was, the person in first place now was someone nobody expected — Magelsen.

Magelsen’s lap time was achieved with dry tires during the best track conditions.

Because in Q3, he was the first on track to attempt a flying lap, and by the time he finished his lap, other drivers’ tire temperatures had only just reached optimal levels.

Whether it was the competitive flying lap already halfway done or just completing the warm-up lap ready to begin the flying lap.

Then, the rain started pouring down heavily on the track.

So it was predictable.

The Haas team’s garage exploded with excitement.

Everyone was as if they had won the world championship, overly thrilled.

Even though 99.9% of this pole position was due to luck, it cannot be denied that if Magelsen’s skill wasn’t strong enough to produce a sufficiently competitive time in the first flying lap, he wouldn’t have secured this first career and Haas history pole position.

Hence, that 0.1% skill played a crucial role.

On Qin Miao’s end, upon seeing the rain, his mindset remained calm, but his qualifying result definitely wasn’t as good as it would have been without the rain.

After all, Qin Miao had basically spent two hours daily on simulators practicing rain combat scenarios recently.

This significantly slowed the deterioration of Qin Miao’s rain combat ability, although it slipped from 89 to 87.

This ability level was similar to those drivers who were conventionally strong in rain conditions, akin to Sainz and Perez.

It was somewhat lacking for the number one driver but more than adequate for the number two driver.

But Qin Miao was definitely not a number two driver, which is why his speed wasn’t outstanding in today’s qualifiers.

Ultimately, after Q3 concluded, the driver rankings were as follows:

1: Magelsen

2: Verstappen

3: Hamilton

4: Qin Miao

5: Norris

6: Leclerc

7: Sainz

8: Perez

9: O’Kang

10: Alonso

Notably, the two Haas drivers showed obvious polarization in the rankings.

Magelsen first, Mick last.

It can be anticipated that Magelsen’s top position in the overtaking chart will become increasingly stable.

Nevertheless, this somewhat chaotic qualifying session ends here.

Qin Miao inherited Leclerc’s legacy, finishing fourth.

Qin Miao was fairly satisfied with this result, at least the deliberate training and practice ensured he hadn’t lost too much of his rain combat ability, relatively maintaining good competitiveness.

Moreover, after the qualifying session ended, the team’s meteorological department clearly informed Qin Miao that it wouldn’t rain during tomorrow’s sprint race and second practice.