For this third comeback episode, I start from the back of the grid at Miami with Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes W14. The race takes place in F1 22 with the 2023 season's appearance. In this 19-lap sprint with AI difficulty set to 100, I need to work through the field while keeping an eye on the tyres and battery.
A fast start, with battery energy to save
The start gains me several positions and quickly brings me into the midfield. Grip is still limited: I would rather look after the tyres than demand everything from the car straight away. DRS is not available yet, so I use short bursts of ERS to stay close.
Behind an Alpine, I wait for the chicane exit and the straight before deploying the battery. The Haas ahead brakes late, although I also acknowledge that I might have braked too early myself. Those first laps are about finding a rhythm in traffic.
Climbing through the field with the slipstream and DRS
A hard braking move brings me into ninth, but I have already drained the battery. I now need the slipstream, followed by DRS once it activates, to keep closing in. I pass a McLaren on the straight and benefit from the cars ahead fighting over their positions. An AlphaTauri also makes things difficult.
A good exit from the chicane then lets me combine DRS with my remaining energy to reach fourth, with both Ferraris ahead. I feel the tyres deteriorating, but manage to pass Carlos Sainz before the chicane. Once again, I use up my energy reserve in the pursuit.
A restart on fresh soft tyres
The GoPro stops during the race: the recording resumes twelve laps later, behind the safety car and Max Verstappen. I therefore cannot show the whole transition. I now have fresh soft tyres and consider the intervention particularly fortunate.
After two laps behind the safety car, I estimate that there are two laps left to race. The battery is full, but DRS is unavailable for the restart. The final sequence revolves around those resources: getting back to racing speed and making use of the fresh tyres in a very short chase.
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