CHAPTER 534: CHAPTER 232: VERSTAPPEN RETIRES FROM THE RACE

Even though this kind of scrape at a slow speed might just leave a mark, this was in a high-speed bend at over 300 kilometers per hour, where the car’s overall balance had reached an extremely delicate state.

In such a state, any slight instability intervening could lead to the car instantly going out of control.

And that’s exactly what happened to Verstappen’s car.

The moment it was hit by Hamilton, the car lost control, spinning around on the spot. The right rear wheel that suffered the collision completely detached, and the car rapidly sped over the concrete ground after T9, crashing into the gravel buffer zone. It continued rotating due to the centripetal force from entering the corner and just in time came parallel to the tire wall right before hitting it.

Then, amidst a massive cloud of dust, Verstappen, carrying horrific kinetic energy, crashed into the tire-constructed buffer wall.

Silence.

The moment Verstappen crashed, a brief silence emerged both inside and outside the circuit.

Followed by a massive uproar.

Over at the Red Bull team’s pit wall, sweat had already begun trickling down Horner’s face. As an industry insider, Horner knew exactly how much inertia was involved in this collision.

And soon, data uploaded from the car sensors confirmed Horner’s fears. That very collision subjected Verstappen and his car to 51 Gs of force.

A normal person exposed to such an impact force would essentially shatter instantly.

Even though drivers are cocooned in monococks and countless high-tech protective gear, there’s no guarantee the driver inside will be 100% unharmed.

After Verstappen’s crash, his track engineer called out over his TR in a somewhat forcefully calm manner: "Max, are you okay?"

"Max, can you hear me?"

At this time, Verstappen hadn’t responded yet, and seeing this, everyone on the Red Bull team was chilled to the bone.

A foreboding feeling crawled into everyone’s hearts.

But just when they were bordering on despair, Verstappen’s somewhat pained groans came through the TR: "Ugh... ah... ugh ah..."

Though one could tell from the sound that Verstappen’s current state wasn’t great, hearing his voice made everyone on the Red Bull side breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the driver’s TR line usually isn’t open; the team only hears the driver’s voice after they press the TR button.

So hearing Verstappen’s voice right now meant he still had the strength to press the button, and his mind was clear, indirectly indicating his current state shouldn’t be too bad.

Meanwhile, a yellow flag appeared on the track, and soon after, the yellow flag on the track turned into a red flag.

During this process, Qin Miao was still unaware of what exactly had happened.

The camera cut to Verstappen, and although the live director hadn’t shown Verstappen directly, by the time Matthew reached his side, you could see Verstappen’s head was still moving.

And as Matthew approached, the medical car also arrived at Verstappen’s side.

The reason the medical car arrived so quickly is because it follows right behind the drivers during the start phase and only returns to the FIA garage to standby after the first lap is completed.

It was at this time that Qin Miao learned from the team TR what exactly had happened on the track.

Honestly, it was really surprising.

Although these two have gone wheel-to-wheel on the track more than once or twice, in Qin Miao’s mind, both are the type of drivers who are technically sound enough to have a sense of the limits during a duel, not making things too ugly on the track.

But how did this collision happen out of the blue?

The good news is that after resting in the car for a while, Verstappen took the initiative to climb out on his own. The doctor who jumped down from the medical car immediately began questioning his condition, ensuring he didn’t have any issues like internal bleeding.

Even though Verstappen claimed he wasn’t injured, the FIA still dispatched an ambulance.

Before entering the ambulance, Verstappen waved to the on-site crowd, reassuring them that he was alright.

Meanwhile, other drivers also returned to the pit lane.

At this moment, the pit lane was bustling; staff from all teams brought their support equipment from their respective boxes to their drivers’ cars.

After Qin Miao got out of his car, he noticed that the person behind him had changed from Hamilton to Leclerc.

It must be that after the collision between Hamilton and Verstappen, his own pace got disrupted, allowing Le the Fourth to snag the spot. Given Ferrari’s characteristics, they are indeed quite suited to the Silverstone circuit. However, they’ve stopped development, so naturally, their speed can’t compare to Mercedes.

Therefore, Qin Miao knew that, if possible, after the race restarts, he would need to help Le the Fourth defend against Hamilton, or at the very least, wear down Hamilton’s tires a bit more.

With these thoughts, Qin Miao didn’t pay much attention to Le the Fourth anymore. Off the track, they were indeed friends, but on the track, Le the Fourth was just a stepping stone.

Taking off his helmet and balaclava, Qin Miao accepted the water handed by Barber and asked, "What exactly happened?"