How did I become an F1 driver?

What Qin Miao said was true. Although Brackley was the territory of the Mercedes team, Mercedes-Benz also remitted a sum of money to the local police station in Brackley every year.

This is to ensure that the local police station has sufficient funds to send additional personnel to protect the property of Mercedes team employees living in Brackley.

However, the excellent matching mechanism in foreign countries and the predatory bloodline in the genes of the Angsa people cannot be changed. Therefore, even in Brackley, burglaries often occur.

The main reason why Qin Miao's family did not encounter this situation was because the surrounding neighbors knew that this was Qin Miao's home, and Qiu Meng gave them some money, so they agreed to install cameras around Qin Miao's home, the kind that are very visible.

You know, foreigners hate cameras, so after seeing so many cameras here, the thieves dare not do anything.

Therefore, it is understandable that Qin Miao gave away these trophies that meant so much to him.

Toto also nodded in understanding.

"It should indeed be placed in a safer place. By the way, how is living in Monaco?" Toto nodded and suddenly asked curiously.

Qin Miao brewed the tea he brought from home and shrugged as he said, "It's just like that, actually. Monaco has a good climate, and there are friends around who are easy to talk to. There is no shortage of entertainment, and you can always find fun activities on weekends. But Monaco is not big, and the streets are crowded. I walk most of the time. I want to buy a motorcycle to avoid congestion, but I can't because of local environmental protection policies and other reasons."

Qin Miao paused for a moment and said, "But after all, Monaco is free of personal income tax, so I am still quite happy living here."

Toto nodded, sat down opposite Qin Miao, picked up the tea handed to him by Qin Miao, and took a sip.

After sitting down, Qin Miao stretched and said directly: "Toto, you should have guessed it. I asked you to come here today because I have something to tell you."

Toto picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said, "I guess it should be good news."

Qin Miao also picked up the tea and took a sip, then quickly took the cup away because it was very hot.

Looking at Toto who was expressionless in front of him and the half-empty cup of tea in front of him, Qin Miao pursed his lips but still said, "I'm afraid this is not good news for Mercedes-Benz."

Without waiting for Toto to ask anything, Qin Miao said directly: "Ferrari made me an offer."

After hearing Qin Miao's calm words, Toto's left eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

But Toto still hoped in his heart that Qin Miao's talk to him this time was not to tell him bad news, but to put pressure on the Mercedes team with Ferrari's offer, increase bargaining chips, and let Mercedes give Qin Miao better treatment.

To be honest, Toto is also willing to make concessions to Qin Miao. After all, the two-time champion's performance in these two games this year deserves a better contract.

So at this time, Toto pretended to be calm and said, "Really? These are all negotiable. You can raise any requests you have."

After that, Toto asked curiously, "Can I know what exactly Ferrari has given you? I can help you get it at the team's board meeting."

Qin Miao did not hide anything and said directly: "Ferrari gave me an annual salary of 5500 million US dollars, an absolutely stable position as the number one driver, and I can unconditionally refuse all commercial activities arranged by the team. I also have the right to appoint and dismiss my personal technician team. At the same time, I also have the right to decide the direction of racing car research and development, and travel to Italy every year... well... this is not important."

In fact, Ferrari has given Qin Miao many more preferential treatments, but Qin Miao knows that Mercedes-Benz can also give these, so there is not much point in saying it out.

Toto's original idea was that no matter what treatment Ferrari gave to Qin Miao, he would just follow suit. This was a piece of cake for the wealthy Mercedes. As one of the bosses of the Mercedes team, he had a lot of room for maneuver.

When Toto heard that Ferrari gave Qin Miao an annual salary of 5500 million US dollars, he could still accept it. It was nothing more than raising the annual salary of a two-time champion to the same as that of a seven-time champion. Although he would be under pressure from Hamilton after raising Qin Miao's salary, given Qin Miao's performance, not many people would object to him getting the same annual salary as Hamilton.

But when Qin Miao stated the following conditions, Toto fell silent.

Can the Mercedes team give Qin Miao the No. 1 driver position?
Obviously not.

As long as Hamilton is still in the Mercedes team and Hamilton's strength has not declined significantly, or even is not as good as Latifi, then Qin Miao will not be able to obtain the clear number one driver status in Mercedes, and the team will not be able to tilt the team resources towards Qin Miao.

The limit we can reach is like what we are doing now, with the two drivers sharing the team resources fairly.

After hearing that Ferrari offered Qin Miao such a clear treatment, Toto immediately felt something was wrong.

Then Qin Miao can appoint or dismiss the technicians of his crew.

Upon hearing the news, Toto fell silent.

Because this is just as impossible in the Mercedes team as Hamilton becoming Qin Miao's wingman.

Because this is equivalent to the driver taking away the power of personnel appointment and dismissal from his father. Although there is only one crew, he also has the power of life and death over others.

Although Qin Miao may not use this right, whether you use it or not is one thing, and whether you have it is another.

This is more like a symbol, a symbol of status within the team.

If it were Mercedes, no matter what Toto said, they would not delegate this power to the driver.

Moreover, Toto couldn't understand why Ferrari gave Qin Miao this power. As the team leader, he knew very well how strong the people inside Ferrari's desire for power was.

What on earth are you trying to achieve by doing this at Ferrari?

Did everything go smoothly for you internally after Vassell went there?
Some of the conditions Qin Miao mentioned could be given by Toto, and he could even give more.

But there are some things that Toto really can't give.

It was at this time that Toto suddenly realized that he might really lose Qin Miao, the talented driver he had discovered.

Toto could no longer hold back the smile on his face. Although it looked like the smile had simply turned into an expressionless face, Qin Miao knew that Toto must be in a state of confusion at this moment.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Ferrari did offer me an offer I couldn't refuse." Seeing that Toto remained silent after hearing the conditions offered by Ferrari, Qin Miao said, "After all, Toto, you know that my contract is expiring at this time."

After Qin Miao finished speaking, Toto subconsciously reached out and touched his trouser pocket, but thinking that Qin Miao didn't smoke, he forcibly suppressed his urge to smoke.

Toto took another sip of the tea in front of him. This time he felt that the tea was much more bitter than when he tasted it just now.

After swallowing the bitter tea, Toto waved his hand and said, "No, you don't have to apologize for this. You should even say that I am the one who is sorry. I can't convince the team's board of directors to give you the same treatment."

After that, Toto leaned back in his seat and rubbed his brows: "I should even say thank you, at least you are willing to tell me the news in advance." "You don't have to feel guilty about it. F1 is just a business alliance after all. It's normal for you to do anything related to business here."

Toto even took the initiative to comfort Qin Miao.

Qin Miao poured water for Toto and said gratefully, "Thank you for your understanding."

……

Then Toto kept frowning and thinking, taking a sip of hot tea from time to time.

After more than five minutes of pause, Toto suddenly asked, "Can you tell me when this happened?"

Qin Miao recalled briefly: "After the game last week, Vassell suddenly called me."

"At that time, the only people who negotiated with me about the driver contract were Mercedes and Ferrari. When I received the call from Vassell, I thought he wanted to bargain with me, but he came straight to the point and said Ferrari agreed to all the conditions I proposed."

Hearing Qin Miao say this, Toto also took a breath of cold air.

Toto also knew what kind of contract Ferrari had agreed to. After all, he was the team owner. He also knew that when negotiating with the drivers, the contract between the two parties usually started at a very high tone and then slowly moved towards the middle.

Ferrari agreed to Qin Miao's contract request so early in the season, which shows how lenient and preferential this contract is to Qin Miao.

How badly does Ferrari want the world championship?
"I don't know why, but after hearing what you said, I suddenly felt less resistant to Ferrari poaching you. At least compared to Ferrari, we really can't offer so many chips, nor do we have such great courage."

To be honest, based on the chips given by Ferrari, Toto no longer had the idea of ​​discussing ideals, future and feelings with Qin Miao.

Ferrari really gave too much. If Toto was replaced by Qin Miao, he would agree to Ferrari's contract without hesitation.

There is an old Chinese saying: It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

Not to mention, the Ferrari Qin Miao was going to buy wasn't some sleazy car...

Although Ferrari often makes low-level mistakes on the track, although Ferrari's cars often have all kinds of strange problems, and although Ferrari's pit stop strategy does not seem to be formulated by humans at all, it is still Ferrari.

It has the largest number of fans in the world and is also the oldest and most prestigious team in F1 history.

At this time, Toto couldn't even think of any reason to keep Qin Miao.

"To be honest, I don't understand why Ferrari agreed to my requests. After all, I made those requests just waiting for Ferrari to bargain with me." Qin Miao said in amazement.

Toto, on the contrary, became more open-minded at this time. After Ferrari offered such a high price, Qin Miao could no longer be retained. He would not and could not offer the same conditions as Ferrari.

Even if he was crazy and agreed to these conditions, the board of directors of the Mercedes team would not agree, and Daimler would definitely not agree.

In this case, they can only part ways amicably. However, Qin Miao's contract lasts until the end of this season, so every team and Qin Miao need to stand their final shift on the track. Toto also does not want Qin Miao to have any regrets in his last season at Mercedes.

"I can actually understand Ferrari's thinking. Vasseur has just joined the team and the team is not united. It is time for drastic reforms, and he is not sure he can lead Ferrari to achieve results in a short period of time. But he has the power to allocate enough resources to the drivers, and in the paddock, you are the only driver who can lead a team that has no championship potential to win the championship on the track." Toto explained his guess to Qin Miao.

"That Vassel really has good vision." Qin Miao nodded in affirmation.

Toto shook his head and said, "You won two world championships in just two years, and you are the youngest double champion and world champion in F1 history. Anyone would know that if they can poach you, the overall strength of the team will be greatly improved. The reason why no one poached you is because they know they are not worthy of you."

Qin Miao asked curiously: "What about Red Bull?"

"They all have Verstappen, so it's impossible for them to find you. With your ability, whoever becomes your teammate will become the second driver. The reason why Hamilton didn't become the second driver is because his status in the Mercedes team is too high." Toto said, "So in order to appease Verstappen, Red Bull will not take the initiative to contact you."

At this point, Toto paused and said, "Are you sure you want to leave?"

Qin Miao nodded: "It's confirmed. If it were you, you would leave too, right?"

Toto said with emotion: "Yes, who can refuse the olive branch of the Red Prancing Horse Team? Especially the price they offer is so... regardless of the price. If it were me, I would also be tempted."

Qin Miao paused and said, "Do you need my cooperation in the team's publicity?"

Toto thought for a moment and said, "You really need to keep this news secret for a short period of time. If you release the news now, it will have a great impact on the team's overall enthusiasm. Let's wait for a while. According to your contract with Ferrari, you should have the right to ask them to delay the announcement of this news, right?"

Qin Miao patted his chest and said, "Yes, I have."

Strictly speaking, Qin Miao now has management authority over the Ferrari team.

Perhaps what Qin Miao said is more effective than what some Ferrari middle-level leaders said.

Having said that, Qin Miao and Toto’s meeting today came to an end.

Toto stood up and stretched out his hand to Qin Miao: "Although it is a pity that Mercedes did not have the opportunity to renew your contract, on behalf of the team, I would like to thank you for everything you have done for the team over the past few years. You have brought us two world championships and countless Chinese sponsors, so you don't have to feel guilty about changing to a better environment. You don't owe the team anything."

Qin Miao also stood up and shook hands with Toto: "I also sincerely thank you. If it weren't for your appreciation, I wouldn't have such a good stage as Mercedes-Benz to show my value."

Toto shook his head and smiled: "Maybe you don't know, there were still many F1 teams interested in you at that time, but they just couldn't give you a seat in 21 years. And with your ability, even if you can't enter F21 in 1 years, there are a lot of top teams in rally, 24-hour endurance race and even FE looking forward to your joining, and you can also show your talent at that time.

And with your ability, it's only a matter of time before you make a name for yourself in these competitions.

And after you become famous at a young age, you will eventually come to the F1 arena."

"One more thing, I'm glad you told me this news right at the beginning of the season. Although I'm sad, your news can indeed allow us to make a lot of arrangements in advance. Last but not least, I also hope that this news will not affect our relationship."

"Of course, I will always remember your help to me. At the same time, I will do my best to help the team win the constructors' championship this year. I will not be soft-handed when facing Ferrari. After all, only by defeating them on the track can I prove my worth to them."

Toto smiled and patted Qin Miao on the shoulder: "I believe in your ability and professional character." (End of this chapter)