How did I become an F1 driver?

It's not just Qin Miao, basically all F1 drivers are passionate about driving racing cars.

Otherwise, they would not be able to become the one in a million and enter the F1 paddock.

Qin Miao maintained this state until Thursday.

Because this week is the sprint race weekend, there are only two practice sessions.

Relatively speaking, this kind of race system is not very friendly to drivers who are racing on this track for the first time, after all, they have less time to practice and get familiar with the track.

For a veteran like Qin Miao, reducing a practice match will have little impact on him.

But to another extent, Qin Miao repaid Zhou Guanyu for blocking Ricardo for him on the track half a month ago.

Because Qin Miao sent all the folders recording his familiarity and understanding of the Interlagos circuit to Zhou Guanyu.

Although the files here are only 100M, a lot of them are useful information.

Although some of the data were obtained by Qin Miao based on cars such as W12, W13, and W13B, for Zhou Guanyu, these data still have strong reference significance.

As for what Zhou Guanyu would do with the data and how much knowledge he could understand, Qin Miao had no control over that. After all, it was his job and it was up to him how much he could understand.

Qin Miao and Hamilton attended Thursday's weekly track and track activities and fan meeting together.

The main reason is that this is Hamilton's home court, and Qin Miao was called over by the team to take advantage of Hamilton's presence.

Basically all the Brazilian fans were smiling when they saw Hamilton, as if they had really met their compatriot. Qin Miao, who was standing aside, also received cheers from many fans.

Of course, human beings are diverse. There are also local fans in Brazil who truly like Qin Miao. Naturally, they are very concerned about all the news about Qin Miao. Many people know that Qin Miao is about to have a child.

So when Qin Miao attended the VIP reception event on Thursday, he received a lot of gifts from car fans.

But what made Qin Miao laugh and cry was that the gifts they gave were not for himself, but for his future daughter.

Naturally, the gifts are either children's toys or children's supplies.

What Hamilton got were mostly souvenirs or old photos made by fans themselves.

When the two returned to the team's home after all the activities on Thursday, they were silent for a moment as they looked at the gifts in each other's hands, which were completely different from their own.

But as an old bird, Hamilton said, looking at the many things for children in Qin Miao's hand: "Qin Miao, it is best to take these things to a testing agency for testing after you bring them back. After all, these gifts need to be used for your children, safety first.

But you can’t not use it, after all, it’s a gift from a fan.”

"I suddenly regret coming to participate in today's pre-match activities. If time could go back to this morning, I would never come here no matter what."

Hamilton smiled and said, "Get used to it. You will have to go through this sooner or later."

"By the way, I'll give you a contact. If you want to test these items, you can go to him. Although I can't give you a discount, at least he and I have known each other for many years, and the test results are unlikely to have any problems."

Qin Miao nodded: "Thank you."

……

On Friday, practice and qualifying sessions begin.

The Brazilian Grand Prix has many legendary scenes.

These include the tragic Massa and the famous scene of the boss sitting on the side of the track.

(We still don’t know where the boss got the chair from.)
Also, in 2018, when Verstappen lapped Ocon, Ocon did not give way on the outside line, and relying on the advantage of the soft tires, he broke Verstappen's floor on the inside line of the track, and at the same time directly knocked Verstappen off the track.

Of course, there are different opinions in the paddock as to who is responsible for this incident, but it is undeniable that the accident between Verstappen and Ocon did ruin Verstappen's race.

But to be honest, the fight between Verstappen and Ocon during the post-race weigh-in was indeed a rare classic scene in F1 history.

There was also infighting between Leclerc and Vettel, which resulted in both cars' tires bursting and both cars retiring from the race.

Ferrari lost big.

Then there was Mercedes' golden left front, which crushed Albon's first career grand prix title.

There are so many different things.

Because of these accidents, Interlagos is undoubtedly a legendary track on the F1 calendar.

Of course, if Zhou Qinmiao wins the race, he will be crowned the 2022 F1 World Champion in advance, and the first Chinese driver in F1 history to win two consecutive championships will be won here.

However, Qin Miao encountered some minor troubles right from the start of the practice on Friday.

Throughout the entire 2022 season, the team's support for Qin Miao's racing car was at a very high level.

Basically, there were no major problems before the race, but before the start of the first practice session today, Friday, during the routine review, a problem with the engine fuel line of Qin Miao's car was discovered.

Naturally, the team started emergency repairs immediately. Qin Miao also went to check the condition of his car and found that it was indeed the same as what the team's technical department said, the fuel line was leaking.

Qin Miao didn't know what the reason was, and the team didn't have any definite information either, but fortunately there were no other accidents apart from this problem.

But because of this sudden accident, Qin Miao started practicing nearly half an hour later than the team expected.

You have to know that before the qualifying session begins, drivers from all teams only have one practice session to familiarize themselves with the track.

However, after Qin Miao came to the track, the speed and condition he showed were not affected by the accident.

Maybe this is the calmness of a world champion.

However, the time left for Qin Miao to practice after this game was very limited, so this accident resulted in Qin Miao obtaining very limited data in the first practice phase.

It was just enough for Qin Miao to find a set of adjustments that were relatively suitable for the current Interlagos track before the qualifying round began.

This time, we had nearly 40 minutes less practice time.

During the qualifying session in the afternoon, Qin Miao decided not to challenge his fans' trigeminal nerve as usual.

Just running the race normally.

After all, the remaining time in the first practice session was not enough for Qin Miao to have a deeper understanding of how to push the car to its limit on the Interlagos circuit under the current aerodynamic characteristics of the car.

But sometimes accidents always come earlier than tomorrow. After the first practice, it started raining on the track.

Although the rain was not heavy, it lasted for a very long time and did not stop until the qualifying round was about to begin.

The rain never stopped during the four-hour break.

Therefore, when the qualifying session started, there was still deep water on the track.

So all the drivers changed to intermediate tyres and kept lap- ing the track.

The purpose is naturally to seize the time when the track conditions are better and achieve a better result.

However, as the time of Q1 progressed, the drivers gradually ran out of driving lanes on the track.

Gasly was the first driver to enter the pit area to change to soft tires.

After he came out of the pit area, almost all the drivers and team strategy engineers in the paddock focused their attention on Gasly.

Gasly did not achieve a good result in the first flying lap due to the low track temperature and tire temperature, but when the race came to the second lap, Gasly directly added three sections to get purple.

When Gasly ran his first flying lap, most teams called their drivers who were still on the track back to the maintenance area, because the track conditions were indeed suitable for changing to dry tires. The flying lap that Gasly ran was the best proof of this.

However, before this, many teams did not let their drivers pit for tire changes in advance even though they knew this. The main reason was that they were concerned about the problem of being the first to stick their heads out getting shot. If they made a wrong bet, they would suffer a great loss.

But the Interlagos track is not that long.

Therefore, traffic problems are inevitable in the Q1 stage of qualifying.

The first group of drivers to change tires basically do the flying laps while the drivers of other teams go into the maintenance area to change tires.

So they face the least traffic problems among all the others.

Qin Miao and Hamilton were naturally the first drivers to benefit from the tire change.

Mercedes' strategy team is quite sharp in this regard.

However, some teams have always been faced with a difficult problem in their pit stop strategy that they just cannot solve.

Stop looking around, I'm talking about you, A Luo!

To be honest, when chatting with Zhou Guanyu and listening to his complaints, Qin Miao even had a feeling that if he pulled in a more experienced commentator... or even no commentator at all, but just a more experienced fan, and then gave them a set of team strategy group tools and predictive data, they would do a better job than these insects from the Arrow team.

Closer to home.

Because the track and air temperature are very low, drivers need at least two laps to raise their tire temperature to the appropriate working window. In the next few laps, as the running time increases, the tire temperature will increase, and the results will naturally get better and better.

Therefore, the later the driver enters the pit, the greater the disadvantage.

The Arrow team is notoriously insensitive, or to put it bluntly: stupid, when it comes to pit stop strategy.

The two Alfa Romeo drivers were basically the last batch to enter the pit to change tires. After coming out, they not only had to face traffic problems, but the team also did not allow them much time to warm up their tires.

Therefore, in the end, the two Arrow drivers only got the chance to run a flying lap.

Naturally, I didn't get any good results.
The drivers who were eliminated in Q1 were: Russell, Zhou Guanyu, Bottas, Tsunoda, and Mick.

The two Arrow drivers who were still trying to get to Q3 in the last race were eliminated in Q1 in this race. It is really sad.

In Q2, it started to drizzle on the track again, but the rain was not heavy. Moreover, as the cars continued to move forward, the raindrops on the track's driving line would soon be evaporated by the high-temperature tires of the passing cars.

Because of this special situation, track conditions may get better or worse at any time.

Therefore, even though all the drivers in Q2 were using dry tires, they continued to set lap times on the track. No one dared to go off. Even Qin Miao, who always liked to be lazy in qualifying, stayed on the track honestly.

Compared to the chaos of Q1, the well-prepared Q2 was a step-by-step process. The drivers eliminated in Q2 were: Albon, Gasly, Vettel, Ricciardo, Stroll.

Qin Miao advanced with the first place in Q2.

Many fans who often watch Qin Miao's races exclaimed after seeing Qin Miao's result:

[Strange, too strange]

【Uncommon ranking】

[Qin Miao, where is your calmness? ]

[First? Qin Miao took pole position? ]

……

Of course, the audience was mostly joking and had no ill will towards Qin Miao.

However, when it came to Q3, the situation on the track became somewhat magical.

At the beginning of Q3, Ferrari asked Leclerc to change to semi-rain tires and go on the track.

Ferrari's idea is also very simple. At the end of the season, their third position this season is unshakable, but they cannot catch up with Red Bull and Mercedes, so the team can think of some more unconventional pit stop strategies and options.

They don't expect to win the team rankings, but they still want to give it a try for the sprint race championship.

As for behind Leclerc, will Perez, who is only 8 points behind Leclerc, threaten Leclerc's ranking?

At the end of the season, Perez was basically useless. On the track, Perez could not put any pressure on Leclerc. From Ferrari's perspective, it was only a matter of time before Leclerc left Perez behind in the standings.

So they didn't worry about that at all.

But also because of Ferrari's choice, a spectacle appeared in the Q3 stage.

The on-site director naturally focused on the Q3 stage of qualifying. At the beginning of this period, all the cameras were fixed on Leclerc.

After all, everyone in the field is using dry tires and you are the only one using semi-wet tires. Who else should I look at?
But the thing about Ferrari is that it always loses every time it gambles.

So after Leclerc started his flying lap, his speed was shockingly slow, and he was even overtaken by Perez who was also doing flying laps behind him.

Speaking of which, Perez was in a pretty miserable situation. He was doing a flying lap properly when suddenly a guy using semi-rain tires appeared in front of him.

If you can't run well, then you can't run well. Why do you come to influence me? Isn't this immoral?
So after Leclerc ran two laps on the track, Ferrari finally realized how naive its ideas were and called Leclerc back.

But Leclerc had just come out of the pit area after changing to soft tires when the rain on the track suddenly intensified and was showing signs of getting worse.

Ferrari: …

Leclerc: ...

What’s funny is that the person now ranked first is Magnussen, who no one expected.

Magrusen's lap time was achieved using dry tires when the track conditions were best.

Because in Q3, he was the first one to go on the track to do flying laps. After he finished the flying laps, the tire temperature of other drivers had just reached the appropriate level.

Either the competitive flying lap is already halfway done, or the car has just finished the warm-up lap and is preparing to start the flying lap.

Then just at this time, it started raining on the track, and it rained heavily.

So predictable.

The entire Haas team's P room exploded.

Everyone was so excited as if they had won the world championship.

Although this pole position was 99.9% due to luck, it is undeniable that if Magnussen was not strong enough and he failed to achieve a competitive enough result in the first flying lap, he would not have been able to get the first pole position in his career and in the history of the Haas team.

Therefore, that 0.1% of strength also plays a crucial role.

As for Qin Miao, after seeing it was raining, his mentality was still relatively stable, but Qin Miao's qualifying results were definitely not as good as when it was not raining.

After all, Qin Miao basically spent two hours every day running rain races on the track simulator during this period.

Although this significantly slowed down the decline in Qin Miao's ability to fight in the rain, Qin Miao's ability to fight in the rain still degenerated from 89 to 87.

This ability is basically the same as those drivers who are good at regular rain battles, equivalent to the level of Sainz and Perez.

It's not enough for driver number one, but it's more than enough for driver number two.

But Qin Miao is not the second driver, so this speed made Qin Miao not stand out in today's qualifying.

Finally, after Q3, the drivers' rankings were as follows:

1: Magnussen

2: Verstappen

3: Hamilton

4: Qin Miao

5: Norris
6: Leclerc

7: Sainz
8: Perez
9: O'Connell

10: Alonso
It is worth mentioning that the two Haas drivers showed a clear polarization in the rankings.

Magnussen was first and Mick was last.

What we can expect is that Magnussen's number one position on the overtaking list will become more and more stable.

But anyway, today's somewhat chaotic qualifying match has come to an end.

Qin Miao inherited Leclerc's legacy and came in fourth.

Qin Miao was quite satisfied with this result. At least his ability to fight in the rain had not been lost too much through deliberate training and practice, and he was still relatively competitive.

Moreover, after the qualifying race, the team's meteorological department clearly told Qin Miao that it would not rain in tomorrow's sprint race and second practice.

Qin Miao had the opportunity to get a better ranking on the track.

After the qualifying round was over, a simple post-match review meeting was held and Qin Miao returned to the hotel to rest.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, just as the team’s meteorological department said, it was a sunny and beautiful day, especially suitable for the race.

The preparation process before the sprint race is roughly the same as that for the main race, but some processes have been simplified or even cancelled.

I won’t go into details here.

When Qin Miao put on his clothes and got into the racing car, the team staff began to give Qin Miao constant instructions.

"Even if we win today's race, we'll only get 8 points. Such a small number of points will not affect our ranking in the drivers' standings, so we should focus on playing it safe in today's race. Don't overtake when the opportunities are not particularly good. Try to ensure that there is no damage to the car and bring you and your car back intact." When Qin Miao was putting on gloves, Franky kept muttering to Qin Miao in the team TR like an old mother.

Qin Miao was getting a little annoyed by what he heard.

But Qin Miao himself couldn't take the initiative to cut off contact with Franky's team TR, so he could only use the skills he learned when he was in school and let it go in one ear and out the other.

As for what Franky said, Qin Miao would naturally take it to heart.

After all, these things are related to one's own world championship. I believe no one will joke about such things.

By the time Franky had finished muttering to himself in the team TR, it was time for the race to begin.

The Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race is a 100km, 24-lap race.

Considering the degree of wear and tear on racing tires at the Interlaken circuit, a set of soft tires is enough for most drivers to complete the race, and under the sprint race rules, the race organizers will not require drivers to make a pit stop.

So except for the drivers who had insufficient tire reserves and had to save tires in order to start with neutral tires, almost all drivers chose to start with soft tires.

Although under such conditions, Qin Miao lost the opportunity to get a free pit stop, but Qin Miao believed that the later the race went, the greater his advantage would be.

After all, if no one stops to change tires, everyone's tire grip will always be in a downhill state, and your downhill curve will be slower than everyone else's.

……

The pre-race preparation process for the sprint race was the same as that for the main race. The staff on the track quickly withdrew, and Qin Miao also calmed himself down, waiting calmly for the start of the race.

Soon, the warm-up lap began and the drivers started from their respective positions and then returned to their positions.

Five red lights come on, the red lights go out, and the race begins.

After the sprint race started, Magruson's first front row start was without any surprises.

He firmly held his pole position.

Qin Miao's start was excellent, and Hamilton's was not too bad either.

Verstappen's start was average.

After Qin Miao started, he could have attacked Verstappen on the inside, but there was Hamilton between Qin Miao and Verstappen. Although Qin Miao blocked Hamilton's inside at the braking point of T1, he could have tried to brake late to attack Verstappen.

But considering that this is just a sprint race, even if I win the championship, I will only get 8 points. For me who is now 40 points ahead of Verstappen, these 8 points are a bit useless.

Moreover, his position at that time was a bit difficult for him to attack Verstappen. Although there was a chance of success, the probability was not high. But if he failed, he would most likely be overtaken by Hamilton, and he might also give his position to Norris. Most importantly, it might cause damage to the car.

So Qin Miao didn't take advantage of the excellent start as usual, and only surpassed Hamilton. (End of this chapter)