How did I become an F1 driver?

Although Qin Miao was a little surprised, ever since he agreed to Ferrari's offer, Qin Miao had been mentally prepared for this day to come sooner or later. However, he did not expect that this day would come so soon.

After calming himself down, Qin Miao asked, "Is it because it's Ferrari's home court?"

"That's true. As you know, Ferrari has been in turmoil this season and has been unable to provide a competitive car for the two drivers. Under such circumstances, it is obvious that neither the enthusiasm of the fans nor the confidence of the team staff can be guaranteed when entering the home stadium. So we decided to give the fans a surprise during the home game."

"Although I have been mentally prepared for a long time, I still feel that this day has come a little too fast." Qin Miao on the other end of the phone sighed after hearing what Wasser said.

"As the old saying in your country says, all good things must come to an end, and leaving Mercedes-Benz may not be a bad thing," Vasseur said. "Don't worry. Ferrari has undergone a lot of changes since I took over. You don't have to worry about encountering the bad things you experienced at Ferrari before. Even if some people still have some inappropriate ideas, believe me, I can help you stop them, not to mention that you now have the decision-making power at Ferrari..."

"Fred, I don't have any concerns, I'm just expressing my feelings." Qin Miao hurriedly stopped Vasser who was about to talk incessantly.

Rubbing his head, Qin Miao said, "I know about this matter. Is there anything I can help you promote? Or do I just need to issue an announcement saying that I will join Ferrari next season?"

“It’s very simple. We will notify you before the official announcement. Then you can just forward our notification and announcement on your social media account.

You don’t have to worry about what happens next, the team’s public relations department will help you handle it.”

Qin Miao nodded: "Okay, if there are any changes in the future, let me know as soon as possible."

“Keep communicating.”

……

After the brief call, Wasser hung up.

Qin Miao didn't waste too much thought on this matter. After all, Qin Miao had already made the decision since Ferrari offered that outrageous price, so there was no point in thinking too much at this time.

Let the change of team take its course.

In the next few days, Qin Miao thought that his work and life would return to normal until the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix began.

But sometimes things are just like this, either nothing happens to you for a long time, or these things come to you one after another as if they were pre-arranged.

On Monday, after Qin Miao finished his afternoon training, he received a call from He Qiang, general manager of the Lynk & Co team.

He Qiang was sent to the Lynk & Co team by Geely after the Australian Grand Prix.

Qin Miao only had the other party's phone number, and they had met and chatted a few times in the paddock.

However, there was not much communication between the two, and they could only be said to know each other.

His position in the Lynk & Co team is somewhat similar to Toto's position in Mercedes-Benz, except that He Qiang does not have any shares in the Lynk & Co team.

All in all, his words are effective within the Lynk & Co team.

To be honest, since the Red Bull Racing team became the Lynk & Co Racing team, Qin Miao has paid little attention to them.

On the one hand, it is to avoid suspicion, and on the other hand, Qin Miao really has no intention of communicating with these mid- and downstream teams at the moment.

Although he was a little confused, Qin Miao still answered He Qiang's call.

After some greetings, the other party explained his purpose.

"Qin Miao, I'm sorry to disturb your rest at this time. The thing is, we know that you have a good relationship with Binotto, and Binotto is taking a break right now. And the Italian competition is next week, so I was wondering if you could help us get some help and invite Binotto out for dinner."

After explaining his purpose, Qin Miao thought about it for a moment.

This was actually just a small favor, and it didn't matter whether to help or not, but Qin Miao still asked curiously: "Are you interested in the comparison teacher?"

He Qiang smiled and said, "Of course. Although Binotto is not a particularly good leader, he is definitely a qualified engine engineer. Which team would not be interested in such a top talent? Moreover, we still have nearly 300 vacancies in the team, and the budget for employee salaries is also sufficient, so now is the time to swing the hoe."

Qin Miao thought that the fact that he was about to join Ferrari would be announced to the public in the near future, and by then there would definitely be many people who would use Binotto to whip his corpse.

Thinking about his relationship with Binotto and how much Binotto thought of him, Qin Miao finally decided to have a meal with Binotto and talk about the Lynk & Co matter.

On the one hand, Lynk & Co can owe him a favor, and on the other hand, it can also help Binotto attract some firepower.

So Qin Miao replied: "It just so happens that I wanted to have a meal and chat with Binotto recently. Since you called me in person, there is no reason for me not to help. After all, we are fellow countrymen. We should take care of each other when we are abroad."

"Yes, yes, I just like communicating with young people like you. We do things in a straightforward manner without too many twists and turns!" He Qiang said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you, Qin Miao. When you come to the paddock this weekend, remember to come to our Lynk & Co team home if you have time. I remember that you have the most special body among all the drivers. You won't gain weight no matter how much you eat. It just so happens that our Lynk & Co team's team home has invited four domestic team chefs who can cook the four major domestic cuisines. The taste is absolutely authentic!"

"Okay, I'll definitely come to visit you then." Qin Miao's eyes lit up.

"Remember to notify us in advance, and we will welcome you. Of course, it's okay not to notify us, we welcome you at any time." He Qiang said with a smile.

After exchanging a few polite words with the other party, Qin Miao hung up the phone.

I laughed. This guy is using double entendres. But I guess he can only use it on himself. Other foreigners simply can't understand it...

After pouring himself a glass of water and thinking for a while, Qin Miao called Binotto.

Qin Miao is now in the UK. Although there is a time difference between him and Italy, the time difference is not big, only one hour, so calling Binotto at this time will not affect him.

Soon, the call was connected.

Binotto's voice came over.

"Qin Miao? Good afternoon. How are you doing recently?" From Binotto's voice on the other end of the phone, Qin Miao could easily tell that the other party was in a good mood.

The vacation has just begun. There is no financial pressure and no work to rush to complete. Binotto, who has been busy for almost half his life, is naturally very relaxed at this time.

"Ciao Mattia." After greeting him, Qin Miao scratched his head and said, "What else can I do as an F1 driver during the off-season? I am busy training all day, participating in various marketing activities, and then competing all over the world."

"Hahaha, don't pretend in front of me, don't I know you? When you were at Mercedes-Benz, you didn't even participate in half as many marketing events as Hamilton. Compared to other F1 drivers, you have it much easier."

"Hahaha." Qin Miao laughed and brushed the matter off: "Mattia, have you been staying in Italy recently?"

"Yes, I'm at my home in Italy, what's up?"

"It's like this, are you free to have dinner with me after the Imola Grand Prix next week? I want to talk to you about something and ask for your advice." Qin Miao didn't beat around the bush and directly told Binotto his intention of calling him. Binotto didn't think much about it, after all, he was really not busy during this period, and answered directly: "Of course, just let me know in advance."

Qin Miao smiled and said, "See you then."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Binotto also hung up the phone.

After Qin Miao hung up the phone, he looked around the house.

After all, no matter what, he took the initiative to find Binotto for dinner, hoping that he would give him some advice. Afterwards, asking Binotto if he had any idea of ​​going to Lynk & Co was just a casual thought, so Qin Miao still had to bring some gifts when he met Binotto this time.

There weren't actually many things Qin Miao could give as gifts in his home in Brackley. Even if there were some gifts that were suitable for giving as gifts, they were moved to Monaco after Qin Miao bought a house in Monaco.

So Qin Miao searched for a long time before he found two boxes of tea.

After making sure that the packaging was not damaged and not expired, Qin Miao cleared the dust off the tea packaging and packed up the two boxes of tea, preparing to give this gift to Binotto after meeting him.

Time continued to flow, and it was Wednesday, May 17th.

This was originally a normal Wednesday of the race week. Since the next Grand Prix was to be held in Europe, Qin Miao did not need to make any preparations in advance. He could just fly directly to Italy on Thursday without delaying anything.

But when Qin Miao finished his physical training in the morning today, he habitually glanced at his mobile phone.

Then Qin Miao saw the news on his mobile phone.

The Emilia region of Italy was flooded and suffered severe flooding.

The Imola circuit was directly flooded.

A week ago, the Imola circuit experienced a round of heavy rain. The organizer of the circuit made it clear at the time that the heavy rain did not cause any impact on the track.

But the rain lasted longer than everyone expected. As of Wednesday, the rainstorm still showed no sign of stopping.

Italy was also in ruins because of the rain.

24 cities were hit by heavy rains, and a tornado even hit Naples. More than ten rivers burst their banks and five thousand people were evacuated.

Unfortunately, there is a river next to the Imola circuit, and this river also broke its banks.

The burst river water directly flooded the entire paddock, and all the materials that arrived in advance were soaked in water, not only those of the team, but also those of the FIA ​​officials.

As a result, the game could not go on at all.

The local area was also severely affected.

A variety of issues need to be addressed urgently.

So the FIA ​​finally cancelled the Imola Grand Prix and all 16 Grand Prix tickets were refunded.

Therefore, the sixth Grand Prix skipped Imola and went directly to Monaco.

After seeing the news, Qin Miao sighed, thinking that he had been preparing for two weeks in vain.

However, Qin Miao didn't take this matter too seriously. It was just one less game.

And strictly speaking, the Imola Grand Prix is ​​not a particularly suitable track for Mercedes' W14.

Let it be.

Not long after, Qin Miao also received an email from the team, which mainly told Qin Miao that the Imola Grand Prix was cancelled and the reasons and consequences of the cancellation.

The information provided by the team was more detailed than what Qin Miao saw on the news.

For example, some of the materials that the team had shipped to Imola in advance were also damaged by water. The worst hit was FOM, as most of the equipment they had shipped to the track in advance were broadcasting equipment worth several million dollars each.

I heard that the set was damaged by water.

But apart from that there was nothing special. Qin Miao replied to the team with an email, saying that he didn't care after he knew about it.

Next, Qin Miao called Vassel back.

After all, after the Imola Grand Prix is ​​cancelled, Ferrari will have one less home race this year. In this case, Ferrari's plan to use the news that he will join Ferrari next season to boost the morale of Ferrari fans will definitely not be applicable.

It is likely that the date for announcing this news will have to be modified.

After two rings, the phone was connected, and Vasseur's voice came over: "Qin Miao, you called me because you must have heard the news that the Imola Grand Prix was cancelled. We were also surprised by this news. As for your upcoming joining Ferrari, it will indeed be delayed for a while before it can be announced to the public. We will notify you as soon as we have an arrangement. Sorry, I have a lot of things to deal with here, so I won't chat with you anymore."

"Um...Okay, I called you about this matter. Since you are busy, let's talk about it later."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Miao scratched his head.

It seems that the cancellation of the Imola Grand Prix has a great impact on Ferrari, but this is normal. After all, strictly speaking, Imola is one of Ferrari's home grounds.

With home games cancelled, both appeasing fans and reporting internally to the board were a hassle.

Qin Miao even heard that due to the poor performance of the Ferrari team this season, all the tickets for the Imola Grand Prix grandstand were not sold out, and tickets in many places were being sold at a discount.

After all, it is an Italian state-owned enterprise...

After hanging up the phone with Wasser, Qin Miao called Binotto again.

The two didn't talk much this time. After all, some things are really inconvenient to talk about on the phone.

However, meeting with Binotto was indeed part of Qin Miao's plan, so Qin Miao called Binotto to ask him to reschedule a meeting time.

Then Qin Miao learned from a phone call with Binotto that Binotto happened to be in the UK.

What a coincidence!
I can just talk to Binotto offline about this. (End of this chapter)