How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

But when the top drivers tackle this corner, it's not that troublesome. They fully rely on their driving instincts.

If it feels right to brake deeper, then brake deeper.

If it feels right to accelerate sooner, then accelerate sooner.

This world is just like that, where one percent of talent is more useful than ninety-nine percent of hard work from ordinary people.

When Qin Miao navigated this corner, it was exactly like that.

Qin Miao didn't even memorize the braking points for these corners. He completely relied on his driving instincts to find the braking points and cornering lines.

What's frustrating is that Qin Miao handled these corners even better than his teammate Hamilton, and only slightly behind Leclerc, who was competing on home ground.

There's no need to elaborate on these corners here. The details are too many, yet Qin Miao relied on his instincts for cornering.

At T8, this cornering technique is unique. Normally, for a right-angle corner like this, you brake later to cut the apex, gaining better exit speed.

But at T8, you can cut the apex at a small angle due to the substantial grip, so there's no worry about losing time with too much speed.

Although such an angle might be a bit large, and it takes longer to accelerate out of the corner, the time saved entering and exiting the corner is greater than the advantage gained from braking later on the tunnel's straight.

On the broadcast, it may seem like the tunnel environment and visibility are quite fine.

But the view from inside the car is not great, you can hardly see anything inside the tunnel.

Fortunately, the tunnel's environment is not complicated. Given Qin Miao's current understanding of the track and his car, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could drive through this tunnel with his eyes closed.

When exiting the tunnel, you cannot see the braking point because the driver's perspective is very low, and there's a downhill section right after the tunnel. Qin Miao's braking point is precisely at this downhill position.

Braking here is tricky because it's at the downhill, so if you brake too hard, the car's weight shifts to the front wheels, reducing the load on the rear wheels.

If the rear wheels' load lightens, even a slight increase in braking power can lock the rear wheels, since less load means less inertia for the rear wheels.

With the terrifying efficiency of F1 brakes, it's possible to lock up your rear wheels completely.

And the consequences of locking the rear wheels here are severe, as Rosberg is well aware.

When Qin Miao reached this point, he decisively adjusted the brake balance forward in his car, braking at the downhill point, and shifted down two gears.

He turned in early for the corner, keeping speed while going deeper into the corner, and the exit after passing the apex of Turn 10 is the slowest part of the track.

After passing this point, he slowly applied throttle and adjusted the car's exit trajectory.

Then it gets interesting; when exiting, you can't cut the left-side barrier like cutting an apex. You have to drive in a straight line to achieve optimal exit traction and acceleration.

When about to hit the front barrier, pull the car back to align with the track, as this basically avoids any losses in traction and speed.

Next is T12, entering in sixth gear, reducing to fifth gear at the apex. Exiting this corner requires extreme caution because there are barriers on both sides and no run-off area, leaving no room for errors.

However, this corner is the gentlest on the Monaco circuit. Compared to other corners, this one is quite conventional, common to many tracks.

T13 and T14 are pseudo-corners. After T12, the car can fully throttle through the corner thanks to its strong downforce.

The prerequisite is mastering the angle, but for professional drivers, this isn't difficult.

Then comes another extremely challenging corner.

T15, there aren't many reference points. Qin Miao typically uses trail braking to reduce speed. The curb at the T15 apex is practically nonexistent, so you can get very close to the apex barrier but cannot touch it.

With entry speed and kinetic energy, if you misjudge the angle even slightly, the car's right front suspension would likely be wrecked.

Yet Qin Miao took this corner perfectly, visually grazing the barrier while passing.

After exiting the corner, he stops braking between the T15 and T16 apexes and starts accelerating.

The curb at T16 is tricky but necessary to take advantage of it.

If the curb is taken too much, the left front wheel will bounce up, and the rear wheel will also be lifted.

If both tires are lifted, the car will lose grip for at least 0.1 seconds. This might not sound long, but in racing, it can decide the outcome of a race.

The consequence of being airborne for 0.1 seconds is the car will crash directly into the front barrier.

If you take too little of the curb, the exit angle won't be sufficient, leading to insufficient speed. Then your qualifying flying lap is wasted.

Even Verstappen has been pushed over the wall in this spot by the curb.

Then it's T17, T18, and T19, which form a combination.

This combination involves many angles and lateral direction changes, making brake control crucial here.

No need to mention T17, T18 has two apexes. The first can be missed, but the second must be cut, and you take as much of the apex as possible.

After exiting, quickly get close to the left-side barrier.

T19's exit is crucial as after exiting, it's the start-finish straight. It's also where Qin Miao practiced the most before the race.

Only with a sufficient exit from this corner can he get enough opportunities to overtake on the following straight.

Qin Miao didn't cut the apex here; instead, he took a wider line into the corner.

After exiting, he went full throttle towards the finish line.

"Okay, here comes Qin Miao," Fei said somewhat excitedly as Qin Miao's number 66 Mercedes passed through T19.

The excitement in the commentary comes from Qin Miao setting a green sector in the first timed part and a purple in the second, 0.2 seconds faster than Leclerc on home ground, and overall 0.1 seconds faster. If Qin Miao is fast enough in this last timed sector, he will clinch his first career pole position.

Although as commentators and audience, they quite like Leclerc, after all, he's a capable handsome guy, and he hasn't achieved any success on his home ground Monaco all these years. Who wouldn't hope for Leclerc to fulfill a dream at his home race?

But if there's a fellow countryman on the side competing, then the inclination is self-evident.

Whether it's the three commentators or the domestic fans watching this race, they all hope Qin Miao can achieve an outstanding result.

What's a bit regrettable for the three commentators is that Qin Miao's final timed sector only displayed as green when he crossed the line.

The final result was 1 minute 10.350 seconds.

Qin Miao's time was just 0.04 seconds slower than Leclerc's.

But it was this 0.04 seconds that unfortunately cost Qin Miao his first career pole position.

The three commentators sighed regretfully at this result.

If Qin Miao had been 0.1 or 0.2 seconds slower than Leclerc, the commentators might have accepted it, but just four-thousandths of a second slower is truly regrettable in their eyes.

Before they could say more, a yellow flag suddenly appeared on the track. When the director switched cameras, they saw a Ferrari crashed head-on into the barrier at the T16 exit, with the front wing completely broken off.

This is the curb I mentioned earlier, hitting it less leads to slow exit speed, hitting it more, you risk being launched into the wall.

But this time, Leclerc didn't fall victim to this curb; instead, he cut too much at T15, causing the right front suspension to hit the barrier and break on the spot.

Honestly, they really should consult with Mercedes to see how they make their Vibranium suspensions.

Soon, the race officials revealed the name of the Ferrari driver.

Number 16 driver, Leclerc.