How did I become an F1 driver?

In fact, normally speaking, Monaco's traffic laws are quite strict. After all, this country is not that big, and the traffic has always been very congested. It is very easy to cause traffic jams if you park your car on the side of the road at will.

Qin Miao's car has been parked here for more than 24 hours. The local traffic police in Monaco have the right to directly seize and tow away Qin Miao's car.

Unfortunately, Monaco is inhabited by wealthy people, so the local traffic police have developed the ability to read people's expressions and judge the quality of the cars in front of them.

Of course, they also knew that the AMG ONE in front of them was not on sale, and it was most likely because it was Qin Miao's car.

After all, in the whole Monaco, only Qin Miao could possibly get this car so early.

The staff member who brought the car over and prepared to complete the handover with Qin Miao also clearly told the traffic police who came to inquire that this car belonged to Qin Miao.

When the local traffic police in Monaco heard that it was Qin Miao's car, their scalps went numb.

Because Qin Miao has a special relationship with the royal family of Monaco.

Prince William, the future prince of Monaco, is a fan of Qin Miao and often visits Qin Miao's home.

This is enough to explain the relationship between Qin Miao and Prince William, not to mention that Qin Miao's girlfriend is also a close friend of the princess.

Many people have taken photos of the Princess of Monaco and Qin Miao’s girlfriend going out shopping together.

The Monaco royal family is equivalent to the head of state in Monaco.

If you tow away the car of such a person, it is equivalent to submitting your resignation to your boss in disguise, and you may even take your boss away with you.

So they had no choice but to leave Qin Miao's car there and wait for Qin Miao to come back.

"Thank you very much." Qin Miao held the other person's hand, shook it vigorously and made it clear: "I know that my car is parked illegally here. I will pay any fine. Just tell me how much I need to pay, and I will go directly to the traffic control department to pay the money. I am really sorry to cause you trouble."

When the traffic policeman, who was secretly complaining in his heart, was faced with Qin Miao's sincere apology, the resentment that he had been guarding Qin Miao's car for a whole night was eliminated without a trace because of the sincere attitude of the two-time world champion.

After all, as a traffic policeman, he has seen too many arrogant and domineering rich people and celebrities.

On the contrary, he had indeed seen people like Qin Miao who apologized immediately after realizing that they had done something wrong and were willing to sincerely apologize to workers like him, but they were not many.

It is undeniable that Qin Miao's performance at this moment made the traffic police believe from the bottom of their hearts that Qin Miao is a good person, and they have become Qin Miao's fans.

As for the reason why Qin Miao did this?

Are you kidding? Even if Qin Miao really has the privilege to do whatever he wants in Monaco, he wouldn't dare to use it.

After all, Qin Miao is a public figure, and there are so many people watching him.

Even if you want to use your privileges to do something bad, you should at least have some people ready, right?
"In this case, let me do the math. Mr. Qin Miao, your AMG ONE has been parked here for more than 24 hours. You need to pay a fine of 2000 euros, and an additional fine of 1000 euros for each hour thereafter. The total is 12 euros. Please pay the fine to the traffic control department within five working days."

Although a fine of 12 euros is not considered much for Qin Miao, it is actually very heavy.

The total fine was nearly 100,000 RMB.

This is also the reason why, even though there are so many rich people in Monaco, there are not many people parking their cars randomly on the streets.

On the one hand, truly wealthy people have garages at home, and on the other hand, parking fines are too high.

Qin Miao thanked him again: "Thank you very much, I'm sorry to bother you."

The other party did not say anything more on this topic, but said: "Please wait, your car keys are in our police car. I will get them for you now."

Qin Miao nodded.

Qin Miao, who had bought many cars, subconsciously felt that the car key of his car should be the same as the car key given when he bought a Ferrari, which is in a small box.

However, when the other party came back, Qin Miao was stunned, because the policeman brought over a huge box that was almost as high as the front of the AMG ONE.

Although judging from the other party's actions, the box is not that heavy.

After the other party moved the box in front of Qin Miao, he said to Qin Miao: "This is the car key. The Mercedes-Benz people handed it to us and left directly. Now the handover is completed, we will continue to work. I wish you a happy life."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, the other party drove away in the police car.

Leclerc, Norris and Piastri also came over at this time.

"Open it and take a look," Leclerc said.

Other passers-by who were watching Qin Miao also started to make a noise: "Open it and take a look, Qin Miao!"

Qin Miao simply opened the box.

Inside the cardboard box is a black alloy box, which is fixed by two clips and has the AMG ONE paint on the outside.

With the help of Leclerc and Norris, Qin Miao pulled out the black box.

Then he opened the black box in front of everyone.

What appeared in front of Qin Miao was a pair of gloves and a black box wrapped in velvet. In addition, there were some tools needed for changing tires on the lid of the box.

After thinking about it, Qin Miao reached out and picked up the box in the middle which was obviously used to store keys.

As for those gloves?

Qin Miao didn't even look at it.

After picking up the box, Qin Miao saw a letter at the bottom.

You don't have to guess to know that this is written to Qin Miao.

Of course, with so many people waiting for him to open the box, Qin Miao couldn't pick up the letter and read it at this time. Instead, he put it in the box and waited to see what was written on the letter after returning home.

Qin Miao then opened the box, and what came into view were two keys with the Mercedes-Benz logo printed on them.

To be honest, these two keys look a bit too conventional and don’t have the same sense of technology as other super sports car keys.

But Qin Miao didn't care.

But just when Qin Miao wanted to take out the key to have a look, Leclerc and Norris, who had been prepared for a long time, suddenly reached out and each took one and took away both keys in the box.

"What?" Qin Miao was stunned.

At this moment, Leclerc and Norris had quickly come to Qin Miao's AMG ONE, and then, under the helpless and amused gazes of passers-by, they directly opened the door of the AMG ONE and got in.

"Qin Miao, you will have plenty of opportunities to drive this car in the future anyway, so let us try it first." Norris, who was sitting in the passenger seat, waved to Qin Miao.

After that, the butterfly doors of the driver and the front passenger were closed, and then the engine was started. Leclerc in the driver's seat stepped on the accelerator, and the F1 engine with a reduced speed still made a high-pitched roar. Then Leclerc and Norris drove the car away.

Only Qin Miao and Piastri were left standing there, staring at the passers-by.

Qin Miao:......

To be honest, Qin Miao should have thought of this a long time ago, and he needs to pay attention to these things if he is forced to be with Leclerc.

I regret it!
But now everyone is gone, and Qin Miao has no way to get them back.

And to be honest, Qin Miao didn't particularly care who was driving his car the first time.

After all, before coming here, who knows how many people have driven this car.

Looking at the embarrassed Piastri, Qin Miao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Your filter for Leclerc and Norris is broken now, right?"

During the time they played together, Piastri also stated that he was a fan of Qin Miao, and after a few days of getting along, his filter was completely shattered.

"It broke a long time ago, on the boat. Now I don't think I will be too excited to see Hamilton and Alonso," Piastri complained.

"Actually, we can still look forward to seeing Hamilton. No matter what, the seven-time champion is still a legend." Qin Miao still had some conscience and defended his teammate Hamilton.

After a brief chat, Qin Miao took out his phone and called his agency.

The main thing is to let the agency send its own lawyer to the local traffic control department in Monaco to pay the fine.

After all, Qin Miao spent money to support an agency. If Qin Miao had to handle such matters personally, there would be no need for this agency to exist.

After doing all this, Qin Miao picked up the box and said to Piastri, "Go call those two bastards and ask them to bring some food when they come back. Now come back with me."

"it is good."

After saying hello to the passers-by who had been watching the scene, Qin Miao and Pierster took their things and left.

Seeing that there was nothing exciting to watch, everyone left one by one.

After returning home, Qin Miao threw the box into the utility room, asked Piastri to sit down, and then picked up the letter.

After taking a quick look at the contents of the letter, Qin Miao found a box specifically for storing letters and threw the letter into it.

This letter was actually written by the designer of AMG ONE to Qin Miao. It mainly expressed his gratitude to Qin Miao for believing in his design. At the same time, it also expressed his gratitude to Qin Miao for helping his design team test the AMG ONE and pushing the car to its limits on the track, giving them more ideas for improvement.

After all, Qin Miao did drive this car on the Silverstone circuit.

After sorting out the sundries, Qin Miao took Piastri to visit his home. Of course, Piastri, like all the guests who came to Qin Miao's home for the first time, expressed his sincere admiration and praise for Qin Miao's wall.

For all the drivers who have risen from the lower levels of Formula One, the trophies on the wall of Qin Miao's house have a huge impact. "Fuck, that's awesome!"

But Qin Miao didn't care about it.

After all, it is human nature to get tired of the old and love the new. When the front wall was just built, it was indeed new to Qin Miao. The appearance of each trophy was engraved in his mind. Now, as time goes by, the little sweet girl of that year has become Mrs. Niu.

Leaving Piastri in the honor room of his home, Qin Miao went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Although Qin Miao doesn't like to cook, he can't help but cook when his friends come over for dinner.

About 20 minutes later, Leclerc and Norris, who had been out for a spin, drove Qin Miao's car back.

He went upstairs to Qin Miao's house with ease, and Leclerc even scanned his fingerprint to enter Qin Miao's house.

As soon as he came in, Leclerc placed the food he had just bought in the supermarket in front of Qin Miao, showed the car keys in his hand and said to Qin Miao: "Lend it to me for a month, and I'll return it to you when I fill it up with gas."

Qin Miao nodded: "Okay."

As for the bet on the boat, Qin Miao didn't care.

Norris returned the key to Qin Miao.

He is not like Leclerc. Although he has a good relationship with Qin Miao, the two of them are not close enough to drive away the other's car with just a greeting.

And he doesn’t have a face as big as Leclerc’s.

Leclerc is really the prince of Ferrari now. Ferrari will not say anything if he drives cars of other teams during the offseason.

Qin Miao, who is now at the peak of his career, is even more of a big shot for Mercedes-Benz. The team is the kind of person who begs the driver to renew the contract. Even if Qin Miao drives a McLaren or a Ferrari to work in the paddock on race days, Mercedes-Benz dare not say a word and even has to praise the taste of Qin Miao's car.

But I can't do that. Although I have a status in McLaren, and I can even say that I am now McLaren's number one driver, I have not proved my strength and irreplaceability to the team in the paddock at this moment.

After all, Norris has not won a single race so far.

So Norris didn't dare to be naughty. He just wanted to experience it for the experience. If he really drove Qin Miao's AMG for a month, his position in the team would definitely be affected to a certain extent.

It would be no fun if Piastrid attempted to usurp the throne.
After taking the car keys from Norris, this was the first time Qin Miao touched the keys of his new car, which was a bit sad to say.

Next, Qin Miao cooked a meal, and after the four of them finished eating, they went back to their homes.

After all, the FIA ​​awards ceremony is just a few days away, and almost all drivers have social engagements to attend before and after that.

Even Piastri, who had just joined McLaren, had a lot of social engagements.

The only oddball is Qin Miao. He doesn't have any activities to participate in and can still rest for a while.

However, Qin Miao, who seldom participated in activities, received many invitations because of his status as a double champion. Many people even felt proud to invite Qin Miao.

This may be what is meant by "scarcity makes things valuable."

In the next few days, Qin Miao did not stay in Monaco, but returned to the UK, waiting for the FIA ​​awards ceremony to begin.

During this period, Qin Miao received bad news that the FIA ​​had officially issued a statement confirming the cancellation of the 2023 F1 Chinese Grand Prix.

The one-month window was filled by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a week earlier.

Therefore, there is a three-week break in the middle of April.

The rest time is equivalent to a summer vacation. The difference is that during the summer vacation, FIA requires all team staff to rest for three weeks, while during these three weeks in April, everyone can still work on the front line of R&D.

I believe that by the time of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, almost all teams will have a powerful upgrade.

In addition, Qin Miao received a text message from Toto during the waiting period.

Because according to reliable sources, Binotto, who is about to step down as Ferrari team leader, will represent Ferrari at the last public gathering of his Ferrari career, which is the FIA ​​awards ceremony. After attending this awards ceremony, Binotto's contract will end.

Because Qin Miao had a good relationship with Binotto when he was in Ferrari's youth training.

So Toto wanted Qin Miao to take advantage of this party to get in touch with Binotto.

Of course, Mercedes-Benz will not leave the specific negotiations to Qin Miao. After all, Qin Miao is a straightforward person. It is estimated that when the negotiation comes, he will directly reveal the Mercedes-Benz team's trump card and ask Binotto, "This is all I can give. Will you come?"

There won't be any temptation at all.

So this time Mercedes just asked Qin Miao to talk to Binotto, and then suddenly talked about this and asked the other party if he was interested in coming to Mercedes.

Of course, Mercedes is not planning to give Binotto the position of team leader, only the position of head of the engine department.

However, Mercedes has also provided a clear promotion mechanism. If Binotto's work in the engine department does bring significant improvements to the team, then after Toto retires, Binotto will be the first choice for the next team leader.

But this has nothing to do with Qin Miao. These are the chips and bottom line that the Mercedes team will put forward when Binotto really wants to join Mercedes and negotiates with Mercedes.

To be honest, after receiving this news, Qin Miao suddenly recalled what Leclerc asked him when they were at a party before the end of this season.

At the time, Leclerc asked himself why Mercedes didn't look for Binotto, and now the boomerang has come back.

However, Qin Miao is actually looking forward to working with Binotto one day. After all, when he was in F2, Binotto really wanted him to join Ferrari.

So Qin Miao did not refuse the task assigned to him by the team.

Time flies, and soon it is December 12th, the annual FIA awards ceremony.

The venue of this award ceremony is different from last year. Last time it was held in France, and this time it is held in the UK.

The process of this event is similar to last year's awards ceremony.

The seats were still allocated according to the different teams, and sitting next to him were Toto and Elliot.

However, when they first arrived at the venue, there was still some time for everyone to chat and communicate with each other, so Qin Miao found Binotto during this time.

After I walked over and exchanged some greetings with Teacher Bi, I could tell that Teacher Bi was not in a very good mood today. After all, he was fired by Ferrari. Although he had a year's garden vacation to enjoy, being kicked out of the team to which he had dedicated himself for decades was indeed not something he could accept.

I had a small talk with Teacher Bi.

After Binotto saw Qin Miao, he was obviously in a state of sentimental thoughts and he had some fantasies with Qin Miao.

If Qin Miao had not joined Mercedes in the 2021 season, but stayed in Ferrari and became Ferrari's No. 2 driver, what brilliant results Qin Miao and he could have created for Ferrari in 2022.

Loved by all Iron Buddha temples around the world.

But this is just Binotto's fantasy after all, and nothing like this happened in reality.

While chatting, Qin Miao asked casually: "Have you considered the Mercedes team?"

Qin Miao didn't say anything too blunt this time. He just asked a question that seemed like a joke.

However, no matter how unsuitable Binotto is for the position of team leader, he has been in the F1 paddock for so long that it is not difficult for him to hear the hidden meaning of Qin Miao's words.

Tilting his head and looking at Qin Miao with a smile, Binotto shook his head and said, "Forget it. I have been working in F1 for almost 20 years. Now is a good opportunity. I want to take a break for a while."

Qin Miao was not surprised after hearing Binotto's answer. Instead, he nodded and said, "That's great. If you have the chance, you can go to China. There are many beautiful scenery in my country, which is very different from the stereotyped scenery in Europe."

Binotto thought for a moment: "I do have plans to travel to Asia, but China is not on the itinerary. Isn't your country still in a state of blockade? Because this year's Chinese Grand Prix has been cancelled, you are unlucky. You have been in F1 for three years and have not had the opportunity to compete in the home Grand Prix for three years."

Qin Miao smiled helplessly: "There will always be a chance."

Binotto smiled and said, "Well, since you strongly recommend it, it seems that I really need to include China in my travel plans."

……

After chatting with Binotto for more than half an hour, it was almost time for the award ceremony to begin.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Qin Miao also stood up from Leclerc's seat. After shaking hands with Binotto, Qin Miao said: "I hope there will be a chance to work with you in the F1 paddock in the future."

Binotto also smiled and stood up to shake hands with Qin Miao, and even borrowed the words Qin Miao just said: "There will always be a chance."

After shaking hands, Qin Miao left the Ferrari and returned to his seat.

At this time, Toto and Elliot were still busy with their social activities and had not returned.

They waited until the award ceremony was about to begin before returning to their seats.

As soon as he sat down, Toto asked Qin Miao calmly: "I saw you go to Binotto, what did he say?"

“He wants to take a year off.”

Toto nodded and sighed with some regret, but didn't think about it any further.

After eating a little, the 2022 FIA Awards Ceremony gradually began as the lights dimmed and the music started.

After a regular opening video, the host came on stage.

Just like last year, the hosts of tonight's show were also full of political correctness. The two hosts on stage were white and black, and the black one was an aunt.

After seeing this, Qin Miao couldn't help but sigh in his heart, what a standard, so damn standard!

Perhaps it was because he had been abroad for too long, and his aesthetic taste had been numbed by these bastards. Qin Miao was somewhat horrified to find that after seeing an old lady on the stage, he actually did not have much emotional fluctuation. (End of this chapter)