CHAPTER 538: CHAPTER 233: CIRCUS

Seeing Leclerc inexplicably slow down worried Qin Miao a bit, after all, such a good shield as Leclerc is hard to come by, so Qin Miao started wondering if he should slow down a bit and give Leclerc DRS to help him out.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm, as Ferrari’s self-healing engine fixed itself on the spot.

Leclerc’s speed picked up again.

However, on the sixteenth lap, following the principle of "strike while the iron is hot," Hamilton began to unleash his pace again, preparing to chase down Leclerc once more.

Seeing the gap quickly narrowing between Hamilton and Leclerc, Qin Miao’s eyelid twitched, and the mentality of being in a comfortably leading position started to shift.

In the combination corners of T3 and T4 on the same lap, after passing T2, Qin Miao usually adjusts his brake bias back by one notch.

This time though, Qin Miao inadvertently adjusted the dial one extra notch.

The setup Qin Miao accidentally chose happened to be the last of the three frequently used setups in this race, switching to a more rearward brake bias mode.

With the brake bias shifted to the rear, naturally, Qin Miao’s braking distance was much longer than normal after braking this time.

And after overshooting T3, the exit speed from T4 was also impacted, with Qin Miao’s overall speed dropping significantly.

By the time Qin Miao adjusted, he was just 0.7 seconds ahead of Leclerc.

This position was roughly where Leclerc couldn’t catch up with DRS but would be significantly affected by the turbulent air generated by Qin Miao’s car through medium to high-speed corners, impacting his exit speed.

In the team pit room, Toto had two screens in front of him, continually displaying on-board footage of Qin Miao and Hamilton.

And when Qin Miao made the mistake, Toto happened to see Qin Miao’s first-person view...

Upon seeing this, Toto raised an eyebrow.

Toto remembered that in the nine F1 races so far, Qin Miao had never made such an unforced error, not even once, even on the team’s simulator.

Toto was very clear about this. The head of the simulator department had specifically praised Qin Miao’s stability in the evaluation report, proving Qin Miao’s mindset and fundamental skills are extremely solid.

Now, out of nowhere, a mistake appeared, and it happened when Qin Miao wasn’t under any pressure.

If you say Qin Miao didn’t do it on purpose, Toto really wouldn’t believe it, but it can’t be ruled out that it was just a coincidental mistake by Qin Miao.

After all, Qin Miao is just naturally talented and not an actual robot, unable to guarantee perfection in everything.

As long as Qin Miao sticks to the narrative that it was just a mistake, everyone at Mercedes has no grounds to fault him.

However, Toto frowned, recalling Qin Miao’s way of making a mistake. Compared to tire lock-ups, Qin Miao’s mistake mode resulted in virtually no tire loss...

Originally, the issue with Hamilton and Verstappen was already giving Toto a headache, and he had been working in the paddock for a while. Now, seeing Qin Miao’s actions, Toto not only had a headache but also felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

Rosberg and Hamilton, Ricardo and Verstappen...

Images of internal team conflicts flashed across Toto’s mind.

Thinking of these scenarios, Toto couldn’t help but shiver.

Hamilton is the founder of the Mercedes dynasty, the cornerstone, and the sole hope of breaking Schumacher’s seven-title record.

So Toto won’t, nor can he, abandon Hamilton at this moment.

But Qin Miao’s talent and performance are clearly akin to a second Hamilton and may even surpass him. He represents Mercedes’ future, providing at least seven years of driver security, which Toto also doesn’t want to lose.

However, if forced to choose between Qin Miao and Hamilton’s eighth championship, Toto would ultimately choose Hamilton’s eighth title.

After all, encountering a talented driver is just a matter of time, but the opportunity to surpass Schumacher’s historical status and record happens only this year.

Moreover, Qin Miao is still young, and if worse comes to worst, once Hamilton achieves his eighth title and surpasses Schumacher’s historical standing, the team can focus all resources on Qin Miao for the new ground effect era next year as compensation.

So Toto decided to talk to Qin Miao after the race.

Regardless of whether Qin Miao did it on purpose, at least in future races, Qin Miao should be cautious. He can compete with Hamilton fairly but should not assist other drivers in competing against his own teammates.

However, at least Qin Miao didn’t leave any blatant flaws in this matter, and he had reasons to brush it off, so when Toto talks to Qin Miao, he needs to approach from a different angle.

Even so, after Qin Miao’s mistake, Toto still signaled Frankie to tell Qin Miao to speed up.

The entire incident of Qin Miao’s mistake was tacitly overlooked, with everyone just suggesting Qin Miao to pick up the pace as there was surplus in tires and ERS.

Once Qin Miao received the order, he didn’t stay in the previous position long and immediately set a fastest lap.

Toto was really both pained and pleased at that moment.

Qin Miao’s talent was terrifying, managing to remain incredibly stable while also having the presence of mind to track the situation behind him.

He was able to react instantly and come up with solutions at the first sign of trouble, helping out the drivers behind him.