How did I become an F1 driver?

Arrow's car is also very suitable for this track this season, and both cars entered Q3.

However, Bottas had used up all his soft tire reserves and did not run in Q3, so he did not have any results in Q3.

As for Verstappen in ninth place...

Pan Zi is a bit unlucky.

In the first flying lap of Q3, Verstappen made a mistake on the track and ran off the track, and the FIA ​​cancelled his first flying lap result.

Normally, this mistake would have basically no impact on a driver of Verstappen's level. At most, he would run the second lap more steadily.

But unfortunately, in the second flying lap, Verstappen had just completed his warm-up lap and had not even started running when a red flag appeared on the track due to Leclerc's mistake. Verstappen did not run the last flying lap.

That’s why he didn’t get any results in Q3.

But Verstappen's result in Q2 was faster than Bottas, so even though neither of them had a result at this time, Verstappen was still ahead of Bottas.

Zhou Guanyu really just ran one flying lap on the track and was ready to imitate Bottas, but because of this lap, he entered Q3 and got the eighth starting position.

Of course, apart from Verstappen, Qin Miao and Hamilton did not break their own records.

Therefore, it is ranked in such a starting position.

However, considering the performance of the Mercedes-Benz car and the characteristics of the Miami circuit, which is mostly straight, it is not too difficult for the W14 to overtake here. In fact, the total length of the DRS zone at the Miami circuit is longer than that of the Baku circuit last week.

So although starting fifth is bad news, it is not as bad as imagined.

After the game was over, Qin Miao got off the car feeling a little depressed.

Looking at Hamilton, who also had a gloomy face beside him, Qin Miao said helplessly: "I feel like I have been cursed recently. I haven't had the opportunity to fully display my own strength in the past few games."

Compared to Qin Miao's depression, Hamilton seemed much calmer: "These are all normal things in the F1 arena, you will get used to it, and at worst, aren't you ahead of me on the starting line?
Also, what is head-falling?"

Qin Miao was stunned for a moment: "Hmm... It's almost similar to the curse in our country, but we just use the name we are used to."

"Speaking of curses, is there anything particularly effective in China? It seems like you have some kind of... Taoist magic?" The old man suddenly asked curiously, "If that's the case, why don't you find some time to ask for a lucky charm or something?"

Qin Miao shrugged: "There are four games in five weeks recently. I can't go in the short term.

And I am a staunch materialist, I don’t believe this.”

After saying this, Qin Miao paused, and the pragmatism in the bones of the Chinese suddenly came into play. Qin Miao changed the subject: "But it won't hurt to believe a little. After the heavy back-to-back competitions are over, I will go back to China and find a more spiritual temple to worship."

Old man:......

Hamilton was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled: "Forget it, anyway, good luck in tomorrow's game."

Qin Miao reached out and shook hands with Hamilton: "Same to you."

……

After chatting with Qin Miao for a while, the two of them finally went to weigh themselves at the signal of the team staff.

There were no problems with the final post-race inspection and the results of both Mercedes drivers were valid.

The starting positions for tomorrow's race are determined.

After finishing all the work in the paddock and returning to the hotel, Qin Miao found Qiu Meng still sleeping in bed.

Ever since this girl came to the United States with Qin Miao, she has started her revengeful entertainment.

It can be seen that she really can't stand being stuck at home.

Coke? Drink it!

Games? Play!

Staying up late is bad for your health? Then stay up all night!

I have to make up for everything I lost in these 10 months!

In short, she was so exhausted that she really started to let herself go.

Although Qin Miao knew that Qiu Meng's lifestyle was not good, he did not dare to persuade her.

Moreover, Qiu Meng has a very good physical condition. Obstetricians say that if Qiu Meng takes a rest after childbirth, it will only take half a month for her body to return to normal.

The reason why I have to do it for a full month is because my family strongly requests it.

All in all, Qin Miao doesn't need to worry about Qiu Meng anymore.

Seeing that the girl was still sleeping, Qin Miao didn't wake her up. After returning to the hotel, Qin Miao went to wash up on his own.

Then I ordered a takeaway for Qiu Meng.

Even though I stayed up all night, I still had to eat.

After washing up normally, Qin Miao usually watches the video of his own race in the qualifying stage, and then looks at the analysis report submitted to him by the team's strategy group. In these analysis reports, the strategy group usually prepares some suggestions that will make Qin Miao feel enlightened.

But the shitty thing is, in today's race, Qin Miao didn't even run a flying circle on the track that made him feel satisfied.

Since they haven't reached their limits yet, the analysis report from the strategy team is naturally of no use as a reference.

So Qin Miao didn't watch it. After washing up, he played two games and prepared to go to bed.

Then Qin Miao had just laid down on the bed when Qiu Meng woke up.

Wow, even though she is in the United States, this girl maintains the most standard schedule in the country.

But before Qin Miao could say anything, the girl woke up, rubbed her eyes and sat up, then looked at Qin Miao lying on the bed next to her playing with her phone and said, "Honey, I'm a little bloated."

Qin Miao was stunned for a moment and stopped swiping his phone.

Qin Miao then realized that if a pregnant woman tells you that she feels a little bloated, it can only be a problem with her milk supply.

Qin Miao got up from the bed and said, "Then I'll get you the breast pump."

Qin Miao had just gotten up from the bed when he suddenly felt Qiu Meng grabbing the back of his neck.

But at this time, Qin Miao had just gotten up, so the sudden external force caused Qin Miao's body to lose balance and fall on the bed like a racing car that had broken through its limit.

Qin Miao looked at Qiu Meng who was holding his collar in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qiu Meng was still a little sleepy at this time, but when she looked at Qin Miao, there was a hint of ill intent on her face.

Qin Miao was a little surprised when he saw this expression, because in his impression, Qiu Meng's face rarely showed such an expression.

But if such an expression really appeared, it would mean that the girl had some bad intentions in her heart at this moment.

"What do you want to do?"

"Honey, aren't you curious about what it tastes like?"

Qin Miao swallowed subconsciously. Just when he was about to ask what he was curious about, he looked down and saw half of the snow-white mountain. Qin Miao shook his head: "Not curious!"

"Stop talking nonsense, it's not like you haven't eaten it before!" After saying that, Qiu Meng pounced on Qin Miao like a female bandit, and then held Qin Miao's head in her arms.

……

Silent all night.

The next day, Qin Miao still looked a little dazed when he came to the paddock.

How should I put it? There is still a little bit of a feeling of wanting more.

The taste is hard to describe, sweet and a little salty, but the taste is really smooth...

"Snapped!"

Thinking of this, Qin Miao couldn't help but slap himself.

What the hell are you thinking! There's still a game today!

Of course, this is just a small episode, and those who understand will understand the matter between husband and wife.

Moreover, after Qiu Meng got up, she suddenly became curious about what her drink tasted like, but Qin Miao was right next to her, so she couldn't just lower her head and start drinking.

So I let Qin Miao try the taste, and finally she used a breast pump to relieve the bloating and pain.

Qin Miao also quickly calmed down his turbulent emotions and got into the state of the game day.

I won’t go into too much detail about the pre-match preparations and various activities here.

It has been almost three years, and Qin Miao has become familiar with all of this and is adept at dealing with fans on the scene.

……

The time has come to the eve of the start of the main competition.

"After replacing the new internal combustion engine, the horsepower of Qin Miao's car has returned to its peak state, but we still cannot take this race lightly. If possible, attack at the start. If you can't attack, it doesn't matter. Verstappen is behind you. Defend him and make sure you are not overtaken by him during the race. Then we will remain invincible in the drivers' standings."

Before the track was cleared, Franky encouraged Qin Miao beside him.

Qin Miao stretched out his hand and shook it vigorously with Franky: "You can question my offensive ability, and you can question my long-distance speed, but you have no reason to question my defensive ability, right?"

Franky smiled and patted Qin Miao's hand: "I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

Soon, following the reminder from the race stewards, most of the team staff and journalists and photographers on the track evacuated the track.

Five minutes later, the support team responsible for the tire insulation blanket on the track also evacuated the track at the signal of the event stewards.

The warm-up lap is about to begin.

After making sure there was no problem, Qin Miao followed Magnussen's butt and started the car.

The two drove out of their parking spot one after the other.

To be honest, the rear of Haas cars is not very common for Qin Miao.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time that Qin Miao saw the rear of the Haas car while sitting in the car at the start since entering F1.

After driving F1 for a long time, you will always encounter some new and exciting experiences that will amaze you.

After finishing the warm-up lap, Qin Miao continued to raise the temperature of his tires as much as possible during the warm-up process.

Then stop the car on the grid as late as possible.

Soon, as Piastri, who was in last place, parked his car and the pursuit car was in position, the race was about to begin.

"Okay, we see that all the drivers are in position, let's take a look at today's start." On the Five Star Sports side, when the race was about to begin, the three commentators all sat upright.

Five red lights came on one by one, and all drivers prepared their cars in the way that was most comfortable for them.

Qin Miao sat in his seat, feeling the wonderful vibration of this new internal combustion engine, ready to start.

"Five red lights go out, the race begins!"

As the five red lights went out, the 2023 United States Grand Prix officially began.

After Qin Miao started, he took the lead and rushed out directly.

After the start, Qin Miao's rhythm was obviously better than Magnussen in front of him.

It can be seen that Magnussen is not used to starting from the front row.

In other words, this start was the same as Magnussen's normal start in the race, except that Magnussen at this time was a bit like a chicken among a flock of cranes, seeming a bit out of tune with the people around him.

After the start, Qin Miao naturally overpowered Magnussen on the outside because of his faster starting speed.

There is really nothing much to say about this overtaking. It was purely a crushing victory in terms of racing speed, plus Qin Miao's starting speed was faster than Magnussen's.

It would be strange if Qin Miao didn't start faster than Magnussen.

After a smooth start, Qin Miao came in fourth.

But the starting straight at the Miami circuit is still a bit too short.

Therefore, Qin Miao posed no threat to Sainz, whose starting speed was also not as fast as his.

After one lap, Qin Miao moved up one place, while Hamilton and Leclerc remained in the same position.

Verstappen overtook Zhou Guanyu at the start by taking advantage of the inside line and his own car performance and finished eighth.

In fact, before the game started, Zhou Guanyu was thinking about helping Qin Miao defend Verstappen behind him if the situation permitted.

After all, Zhou Guanyu also learned a lot of defensive skills from Qin Miao. If applied on other drivers, Zhou Guanyu really cannot show all his defensive skills, but if used on Verstappen and the effect is good, I believe that many teams that need a No. 2 driver will look at Zhou Guanyu.

At worst, when you enter Lynk & Co, you will have more bargaining chips.

But the opposite happened. Before Zhou Guanyu had time to exert his strength, Verstappen overtook him in an instant in the inside at the start.

There is really no way around it.

As the race entered the second lap, the leading Perez quickly widened the time gap with Alonso. Although Qin Miao followed Sainz, the performance of the Ferrari was still competitive before the tires failed.

Therefore, before DRS was turned on in the race, Qin Miao had no way to pose a substantial threat to Sainz and could only put pressure on Sainz from behind.

On the third lap, Magnussen was overtaken by Hamilton from behind and became entangled with Leclerc.

Both cars used the same Ferrari engine with the same horsepower, and for a while the two were in a close fight on the track.

With DRS turned on on the third lap, drivers Qin Miao, Hamilton and Verstappen started their own personal overtaking shows on the track.

After all, they shouldn't have been there in the first place, so it was normal for them to be chopping melons and vegetables on the track at this time. (End of this chapter)