CHAPTER 183: CHAPTER 120: FIVE RED LIGHTS GO OUT

The racers in the lineup were idling, gently pressing the accelerator.

Qin Miao didn’t know how others started, but he kept his engine revs at about 6000 RPM, his eyes fixed on the five red lights above, waiting to press the clutch button once the lights went out.

In the roar of twenty-one F2 engines, the five red lights went out, and Qin Miao pressed the clutch button at the same moment. The clutch gear coupled with the engine, the rear wheels of the red Prema car instantly activated, driving the car out of the starting grid.

Qin Miao’s start was very perfect this time, much better than Zhou Guanyu, with a reaction at least 0.2 seconds faster.

0.2 seconds may feel like a mere moment, but in this sport where milliseconds count, that is a substantial advantage.

So before the traffic reached T1, Qin Miao had already overtaken Zhou Guanyu to take the first position thanks to his excellent starting skills.

Confirming he had reached the first position and Zhou Guanyu posed no threat, Qin Miao glanced at the cars behind.

After overtaking Zhou Guanyu, he didn’t make any excessive moves, just guarding his outside line, aiming for a wider track or faster cornering speed after the turn.

Zhou Guanyu wasn’t trying to attack Qin Miao, and based on his understanding of Qin Miao, overtaking him after being passed was extremely difficult. Qin Miao’s defensive ability is terrifying, and Zhou Guanyu has no confidence in surpassing Qin Miao.

So all his actions were aimed at defending his teammate, another racer who started at the same level as Qin Miao: Callum Ilott.

Though the car was red, it belonged to the same team as Zhou Guanyu, but this person and Qin Miao are from the same youth training program, both under Ferrari.

Thanks to a good start, after Qin Miao overtook Zhou Guanyu, Ilott also relied on his speed to overtake Zhou Guanyu on the inside line.

So in just one start, Zhou Guanyu dropped two positions, falling from first to third.

"The five red lights go out, the race begins!"

"Qin Miao had a great start, overtaking Zhou Guanyu before entering T1!"

"Zhou Guanyu’s teammate, Ilott, also had an impressive start. Starting fourth, he climbed two positions using just the start, reaching second place!"

"However, Zhou Guanyu firmly held the outside line, so although Ilott overtook him in the starting stage, he had to take the inside line when entering T1."

As Bing said, although Zhou Guanyu lost two positions at the start, he held the outside line at the T1 exit, which allowed him to have a higher exit speed compared to Ilott, who took the inside line. On the straight between T1 and T3, Zhou Guanyu had a notable speed advantage.

So after entering the straight, Zhou Guanyu began visibly closing in on Ilott.

Even before reaching the less prominent T2, Zhou Guanyu made a move on the outside line.

Due to taking the outside line before T2, Zhou Guanyu directly overtook half a car length of Ilott when making the right turn at T2.

But the next turn was a low-speed right turn, and Ilott took the inside line, relying on late braking to squeeze into the inside line, overtaking Zhou Guanyu.

Ilott had the intention of maintaining the inside line from the T1 exit.

And at this crucial moment, Zhou Guanyu’s good buddy, Qin Miao, intervened.

He had been leading the race and could have opened at least two car lengths distance from the cars behind at T1 and T2 turns.

However, noticing Zhou Guanyu’s poor start, Qin Miao was somewhat concerned for his close friend, especially seeing Zhou Guanyu entangled with Ilott at T2.

So when approaching T3, he slightly slowed down, choosing not to take the wider line but instead cut to the curb.

Qin Miao was faster than the two of them, and when his car’s nose aimed at the apex, it was precisely when Zhou Guanyu and Ilott approached the rear of Qin Miao’s car.

At this point, Qin Miao’s car body happened to block Ilott’s line, allowing the outside line for Zhou Guanyu.

Though Qin Miao took the risk of being bumped by Ilott, he knew Ilott, who had the chance to reach the podium in the first race of 2020, wouldn’t be careless.

So he boldly blocked his line.

And just as Qin Miao anticipated.

Faced with Qin Miao’s car almost blocking him directly, Ilott reluctantly chose to slow down, while Zhou Guanyu took advantage of the situation, disentangling from Ilott, smoothly passing through T3, and with Qin Miao’s help, securing second place.

"Zhou Guanyu! Utilizing the outside line’s speed advantage at T1, successfully closing in on Ilott on the straight!"

"Wheel-to-wheel side by side! Making a move on the outside line at T2! Is there a chance to overtake at T3?"

Zhou Haoran said, "I guess it’s not possible, Ilott here just needs a late brake to block Zhou Guanyu’s line."

Just as Zhou Haoran finished speaking, the screen showed Qin Miao blocking Ilott’s line due to line issues, allowing Zhou Guanyu’s position.

"Qin Miao?! Qin Miao blocked Ilott on the inside line at the corner!" Fei exclaimed.

Bing couldn’t help but laugh, "Haha, now Zhou Guanyu hasn’t dropped too much, and the top two are Chinese drivers."