The drivers of the second group surged forward instantly, with O'Kang even appearing directly in second place.
The race organizers promptly displayed a yellow flag after the collision, which then escalated to a safety car. Merande hadn't even completed a lap on the track when the safety car was upgraded to a red flag.
At this point, T1 of the track was littered with carbon fiber debris. Any driver passing through T1 who ran over the debris with their tires would be embroiled in another incident.
Considering the situation, deploying the red flag wasn't an issue.
Interestingly, this race, like the previous one at Silverstone, also saw the red flag come out before the first lap was completed.
The red flag provided other drivers a chance to catch their breath. Nearly all drivers who sustained car damage needed their teams to evaluate whether repairs were possible or if they needed to retire from the race.
Qin Miao was among them.
After being hit, Qin Miao felt somewhat frustrated.
