How did I become an F1 driver?

Qin Miao naturally understood, and after some more pleasantries with Li Shufu, Qin Miao was ready to end the call with Li Shufu.

But before hanging up the phone, Li Shufu asked again, seemingly unintentionally: "Qin Miao, I have a question for you. Do you think the name Lotus sounds better, or the name Aston Martin sounds better?"

what?
Why did I suddenly ask this while we were chatting?
However, Qin Miao quickly reacted and suddenly asked this. It should be that Geely is really preparing to speed up its entry into F1. However, at this time, it is not determined whether Geely will continue to use the Aston Martin name after entering F1, or whether it will continue to use the name of Geely. Another car brand, Lotus, which also has a brilliant record in F1, is the Lotus code name.

After thinking about it, Qin Miao didn't come from the Lotus era after all, and didn't know much about the history and glory of Lotus. So after thinking for a while, Qin Miao felt that the blue color of Aston Martin was quite nice, so he said: " If I had to choose, it would be Aston Martin."

"Will my choice affect your choice in these matters?" Qin Miao asked curiously after answering Li Shufu's question.

Li Shufu on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, and then said, "That's not true. The main reason is that I'm a little curious."

"Oh oh oh,"

"That's it. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

"Hey, okay, sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, it's okay. Amidst the heavy workload, it's nice to be able to talk to you about things that have nothing to do with work."

……

While thanking him, he hung up the phone.

Although the last question made Qin Miao confused at first, the main purpose of Qin Miao's call was finally achieved.

Although Li Shufu did not agree with him, he did not agree with him to sign the contract provided by Toto, and finally asked himself this question, which shows that Geely is confident that he will complete the deal with Aspen before his contract expires. Don Martin's acquisition should also buy the team's shares from the old Stroll.

The meaning is obvious. Neither Li Shufu nor Boss Zhou wants Qin Miao to sign this new contract.

The idea of ​​both of them should be that Qin Miao should not rush to sign the contract, but wait a little longer to join forces with the Chinese team.

After getting the answers from these two people, Qin Miao almost had his own thoughts in his heart.

After thinking about it, Qin Miao called Toto.

"Qin Miao, good afternoon, what can you do?"

"Good afternoon Toto, I'm here to talk to you about my contract."

“Shouldn’t your agent talk to me about this?
And I thought you would think about it longer. After all, this is not a decision that can be made casually. "Toto was obviously surprised after answering Qin Miao's call.

This is Toto's judgment based on the fact that Qin Miao will definitely agree to Mercedes' request. During this process, Qin Miao and the brokerage team and company behind him will definitely make some assessments. Even if there are problems, they should be integrated. It should be common sense to bring it up together at the beginning of the negotiation, which can save both parties time. Finally, we will discuss a reasonable contract price, then discuss the negotiation strategy, and finally give the exact time to negotiate with Mei. Ben started discussing the contract.

However, after the call was connected, Qin Miao didn't talk about the twists and turns, and said directly: "Toto, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. We are not going to extend the contract period."

"What?" The faint smile that was still hanging on Toto's face on the other end of the phone suddenly froze, and then he sat up from his chair and asked seriously: "Did something happen? Or was it because other teams gave him Did you bid?"

At this point Toto paused: "It's impossible. There is a Concorde Agreement between the teams. Your contract at this time is still very long. It's impossible for other teams to make offers to you at this time...

I can't think of the reason for your refusal at the moment. Can you tell me conveniently? "

Qin Miao couldn't possibly tell Toto at this time that he was going to pack up and leave after Geely entered the venue, right?Moreover, Geely's entry is just Li Shufu's verbal statement, and there is no evidence to prove that Geely is ready to enter.

Even if Qin Miao really planned to leave after the contract ended, it would be impossible for him to tell Toto that he would be in trouble.

After all, his points are still higher than the old man's, and he has a chance to compete for the driver's championship this season.

Moreover, he has only joined Mercedes for half a season, and the driver's position is not yet popular. Sending such a signal at this time is extremely detrimental to Qin Miao's future.

If Toto knew about this at this time, all subsequent games and the team's resources would be tilted towards Hamilton, and Qin Miao would not be able to use his talent no matter how good he is.

At critical moments, the team will stumble you again. When you and Hamilton are competing for points, they will give you a fuel leakage and fainting strategy. What should you do?
So after hearing Toto's question, Qin Miao did not tell the truth, but said in a young and energetic tone and attitude: "I think I will have better results and competitive status after the contract ends. I think I will There are more possibilities with you.”

Although these words may easily make the leader think you are too arrogant, at Qin Miao's age and his current achievements in the paddock, these words are actually not incomprehensible.

Toto also knew that Qin Miao knew that his talent was very good and he was confident in his future. He was ready to wait and see, and then he would be able to get more benefits from Mei Ben.

In Toto's personal opinion, this is human nature and understandable, and Qin Miao's strength can indeed allow him to have such thoughts.

But from the perspective of the team owner, he can also see Qin Miao's overflowing talent. He also believes that Qin Miao's future is limitless, so he needs to extend the contract time with Qin Miao to ensure that Qin Miao can serve for the future. The team plays for the team, and the team’s investment in Qin Miao is worth the money.

"I think we still have room for discussion on this matter..." Toto said: "Otherwise, the price of our contract can be negotiated a little higher. What do you think of an annual salary of US$2000 million? You know you It's only his first year in F1. Being able to get such a high salary is already No. 1 in history. Even Verstappen didn't have such a high annual salary when he entered F1 in his first year.

This contract is very long. Even if your condition declines one day like Daniel is now at McLaren, you can still get an annual salary of 2000 million US dollars every year. Basically, after the contract ends, you will completely achieve economic freedom.

This is certainly a reassurance for you, and I hope we can both give each other some credit. "

To be honest, Qin Miao was really persuaded by Tuotuo at this time.

As for the auspiciousness of Qin Miao's entry after staying at Mercedes-Benz?
If they really need a Chinese driver, doesn't F2 still have Zhou Guanyu?

Qin Miao, another member of F2, has not paid much attention to him since he entered F1.

But Qin Miao knew that Zhou Guanyu actually had the strength to enter F1, and he would teach Zhou Guanyu something from time to time. Although Zhou Guanyu is not as dominant in F2 as he was at the beginning, he is still considered the most powerful among many drivers. of that batch.

Now F2 has run a total of four races. Zhou Guanyu has won four championships alone. The F2 overall standings also maintains the first position. Although the drivers behind him pose a certain threat to him, Zhou Guanyu has won four championships this F2 season. After finishing, it is very likely that he will enter F1 next season.

It is impossible for Zhou Guanyu to sign a three-year contract with such a low salary in his first year after entering F1. Therefore, the first F1 professional driver contract that Zhou Guanyu gets will most likely be for one year, but with a small probability it will be for two years.

One year is easy to say. As long as Zhou Guanyu's performance in the first season is good enough, renewing the contract is not too difficult. Two years is exactly when Zhou Guanyu's contract expires and Geely enters the market. Zhou Guanyu can go to Geely directly.

But Qin Miao just thought about it this way. If he was really asked to make a choice, he would still choose to join a domestic team.

After all, the icing on the cake can never be as good as providing help in times of need.

And even if Qin Miao didn't think so, his system wouldn't agree.

【Ding!Task release]

[Task name: Join forces with powerful forces]

[Requirement: After Geely enters F1, directly join Geely’s team]

[Reward: [Passive Skill: Luck of the Great Country], Golden Draw*1, all attributes of the team will be permanently +2, morale of all staff in the team will be +5 within a season]

[Passive skill: Luck of the great country]

[Explanation: There is God’s will in the dark, and the dragon in the east will eventually rise]

[Effect: The race car research and development progress of the team to which the host belongs is increased, and the probability of the race car research and development going in the wrong direction is -10%]

[Punishment for mission failure: Popularity is greatly reduced and luck is damaged. 】

Yes, once the system tasks come out, it will be impossible for Qin Miao to continue to stay in Mercedes-Benz. The most important thing is that this is the first time that the system tasks punish Qin Miao, who often fails to complete the system tasks.

This punishment also involves such mysterious and mysterious things as luck. Seeing this, Qin Miao no longer dared to take it seriously.

And even if there was no punishment, Qin Miao was very tempted after seeing so many rewards given by the system.

So after being silent for a while, Qin Miao still said with the arrogance and arrogance unique to young people just now: "Toto, thank you for your respect for my strength, but I still want to give it a try. This is actually just a job." The gambling agreement is also an insurance for Mercedes. If my strength declines seriously after a few seasons, Mercedes can stop the loss in time, right?

And if I really have the strength to match the price you gave me, you won't feel any pain because the price you offered me is too high. "

Toto: "...Okay, it seems you already have a plan in mind."

"However, we cannot ignore your contribution to the team. This is unfair to the team, the team's staff, and you." Although it is a pity that Qin Miao cannot be tied to Mercedes' battle in advance. There were some regrets in the car, but fortunately Qin Miao's contract was still long, and Toto had enough confidence and time for Qin Miao to fully recognize Mercedes and stay at Mercedes.

But increasing Qin Miao's salary is one of the main goals of the Mercedes-Benz team. After all, Qin Miao is taking half of Hamilton's resources at this time, but he has contributed more points than Hamilton, which has helped the team's factory research and development work. It’s also the real deal.After all, Qin Miao is the only driver in the paddock who has time to go to the team factory at least three times a week.

If Qin Miao doesn't improve his treatment, many people in the team will have objections.

"Okay, we will talk about extending the contract period later, but I will still prepare a new contract for you. What do you think about starting to negotiate the contract after Spa?" Toto asked.

"No problem, thank you for your understanding Toto." Qin Miao replied gratefully.

After hanging up the phone, the matter was settled, and it was up to Qiu Meng and Mei Ben's people to discuss the rest.

What is certain is that without increasing the length of the contract, the salary Mercedes will offer Qin Miao will definitely not be as much as the US$2000 million mentioned by Toto.

But it won’t be less. After all, it has to match Qin Miao’s contribution to the team, right?

After hanging up the phone, Qin Miao told Qiu Meng his decision in detail, and Qiu Meng didn't feel too surprised after knowing Qin Miao's choice, as if she had expected Qin Miao's choice.

"As long as it's confirmed, don't worry and leave it to me. I will definitely make a good profit from Mei Ben for both of us!" Qiu Meng promised, patting her chest.

……

On Wednesday, Qin Miao's management team officially started negotiations with Mercedes-Benz, and the news spread like wildfire. Everyone inside and outside the factory knew that Meiben and Qin Miao had begun negotiations on Qin Miao's contract.

There are different opinions on this at home and abroad. After hearing the news, the domestic audience gained the simplest and most direct human emotion, which is happiness.

Because Mercedes' move proved that Mercedes felt that Qin Miao's strength was no longer worthy of the treatment it was giving Qin Miao, so it naturally needed to increase the bargaining chips of both parties through negotiations to balance Qin Miao's contribution to the team.

Foreign racing fans have said that Qin Miao is greedy. Although he has such a high bonus, after half a season, Qin Miao's salary has exceeded that of some mid-level group drivers.

There are also many people who believe that this matter is understandable. Qin Miao's current salary is indeed not worthy of his contribution to the team.

There are also those who are just having fun.

Of course, there is also the Iron Buddha Temple that satirizes Ferrari. After all, Qin Miao, a young driver who can compete with the seven-time crown champion Hamilton back and forth, and can even hold the lead in the standings after half a season, is Ferrari let him go.

Although the instigator has been fired, many old Ferrari fans still complain about this.

"Qin Miao should have been ours!"

"Toto is a thief, he should return Qin Miao to us!"

It is worth mentioning that Binotto was originally criticized a lot.

But on several occasions, reporters in the paddock photographed Qin Miao and Binotto chatting together and even joking with each other when they met in the paddock.

The Tiefu Temple also knew that Binotto was the group of people who hoped Qin Miao could stay at Ferrari.

Therefore, their criticism of Binotto has gradually become smaller. Now the criticism of Binotto is mainly due to Ferrari's poor performance.

However, Qin Miao felt that now that the time was up, it was just a random excuse for them to scold Ferrari for his incident, and they did not really care about his talented driver.

After all, as the saying goes, if you miss something, you just miss it.

In addition, there is another thing today, that is, the system sent a task to Qin Miao today as always.

The rewards for tasks are also relatively regular.

The general rewards are the driver championship and the best driver voted by the audience.

The rewards are also very conventional, including free attribute points, draws, etc.

I won't go into too much detail here.

On Thursday, Qin Miao and the team's staff set off for Belgium.

Coming up this week is the race at Spa.

The good news is that Mercedes has brought upgrades this week. The side-breaking wings are a little more complicated to add some mechanical grip without destroying the balance of the car. It also brings two new rear wings that can make Mercedes-Benz's two Riders choose according to their preferences.

The bad news is that the meteorological department said that the weather in Belgium is not very good this week, and it rains 7 days out of 6 days.

And it’s not even light rain.

For Qin Miao, this rain was really fatal.

After all, he has become a well-known landlubber in the paddock.

Although Qin Miao can fully utilize the performance of the W12 in rainy conditions, compared with his ability in dry conditions, Qin Miao's rain fighting ability is really not good enough.

For Verstappen, the rain in Spa is really a God-given opportunity. This is his best chance to overtake the two Mercedes drivers in the standings.

It is worth mentioning that Verstappen has been practicing driving in rainy weather at the request of his father, Jos Verstappen, since he was a child. Therefore, Verstappen's rain fighting ability ranks among all the drivers in the current paddock. is the absolute number one.

So before the start of this race, many people felt that this race should be Verstappen's one-man show.

The two Mercedes drivers could only act as foils behind him.

After starting work on Thursday, Qin Miao, in addition to participating in some team promotional activities as usual, spent most of his time practicing qualifying limits in the rain at Spa and long-distance lap times in the race. .

It is difficult to run on the track in rainy conditions because as the rain continues to change, the track conditions are always in a state of constant change.

And it is also related to the terrain of the track. Some places have better drainage performance, or there are track drainage outlets nearby, so even if it rains on that section of the track, the amount of rainwater retained on the track is very small, and the rainwater falls Then it flows directly into the drainage outlet due to the angle of the track.

In some places, water accumulation occurs due to unreasonable layout of the drainage system. Although if it stops raining, the rainwater will be drained automatically in a short time. However, when it is raining, these places Rainwater will continue to accumulate, affecting the driver's judgment when driving.

When Qin Miao was racing, he knew that those places were prone to water accumulation because of his knowledge of the track. However, Qin Miao was unable to calculate and judge the track entry angle, racing gear, and racing control while driving. The impact of rain on the track on the grip and aerodynamics of the car.

So faced with these problems that Qin Miao couldn't solve, all Qin Miao could do was use the most primitive and effective method, which was to slow down.

It is naturally easier to corner when the speed slows down, which is also the main reason why Qin Miaoyu's fighting ability is not strong.

It was already early autumn, and both the air temperature and the track temperature were very low.

The air temperature is 12°C, the track temperature is 16°C, and the air humidity is 91%.

In this state, the grip of the racing tires is even worse. It is very difficult to get the tires to reach the appropriate operating temperature without cooling down quickly.

Also because of the harsh environment on the track, Qin Miao only walked one lap when walking the track. And because of the weather, only Qin Miao and Barber were walking on the track together.

Finally, I went to attend the pre-match press conference on Thursday. Qin Miao's work after arriving at Spa was completed.

Qin Miao had no time to spare in the evening and had a meal with all the Mercedes-Benz staff. After all, this was the first reunion after everyone returned to their work. Naturally, they needed to unite people's hearts.

Naturally, Qin Miao, Hamilton and Toto, the three souls of Mercedes-Benz, were all present.

It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when I got home after the party.

When Qin Miao got home, she used her mobile phone to tell Qiu Meng that she had returned to the hotel, then put down her mobile phone and went to sleep.

Friday, the day when the first and second training starts.

Qin Miao became officially busy from this moment on.

Although Qin Miao lived a very comfortable life during the holiday, Qin Miao did not feel any discomfort after suddenly becoming busy. He even felt comfortable and at ease with this busy feeling.

Unknowingly, Qin Miao cultivated this busy life in the paddock into his own comfort zone. (End of chapter)