How did I become an F1 driver?

However, as a child who is only a few months old, it is inevitable that he will have many problems that drive adults crazy.

The biggest headache for Qin Miao was the child's crying at night. Qin Miao even didn't get a good night's sleep in the first week because of this problem.

In fact, it was Qin Miao's own fault. Qiu Meng had originally agreed that she would take Xiao Muqiu to sleep, and Qin Miao would sleep alone in the guest room.

But Qin Miao volunteered to take care of the child together with Qiu Meng.

Then Qin Miao deeply understood why the elderly in the family said that raising children is a physical job.

Whenever little Muchu woke up and started crying at night, Qin Miao would be woken up no matter how sleepy he was. This was not only because of the noise, but also because of Qin Miao himself. He would involuntarily worry that little Muchu had caught a cold because he didn't cover himself with a blanket when sleeping, or that he was not feeling well.

Worrying too much will lead to confusion, it is just like this.

However, as time went by, when the competition week came, Qin Miao could no longer hear little Muchu's crying even if he wanted to.

Because the time is almost up, Qiu Meng wants to take her child back to China for a physical examination and vaccination.

Qin Miao also has to go to Canada in advance to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Of course, something happened during this process that made Qin Miao feel very gratified.

When they were about to separate, Qin Miao sent Qiu Meng to the airport. Then, when little Muchu was taken away from Qin Miao's arms by Qiu Meng before boarding the plane, little Muchu seemed to know that he was going to be separated from his father. He kept crying to Qin Miao and opened his arms for Qin Miao to hold him.

To be honest, Qin Miao felt really distressed at this time and just wanted to keep this little girl by his side.

However, Qin Miao still let Qiu Meng take the child away. After all, everyone had work to do and it was impossible for them to swerve because of a child's wishes.

On the second day after parting with his family, Qin Miao found a photo of him, Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc in the driver group.

This was sent by Leclerc, and he also @Qin Miao in the group.

When I opened it, wow, the first thing I saw was Wasser’s big face, and at that moment, there was a faint smile on Wasser’s face.

At the beginning, Qin Miao didn't take it too seriously, thinking that Leclerc was just posting Vasseur's ugly photos in the group to disgust himself and Zhou Guanyu.

Then Leclerc explained to Qin Miao: [This was Vasseur's expression after the Grand Prix last week.]

[My track engineer captured this photo, guaranteed authenticity]

Zhou Guanyu: [With Ferrari's poor performance last week, can Vasseur still laugh? ]

Leclerc: [/funny]

[Normally he can't smile, but guess why this smile appears on his face? ]

Zhou Guanyu: [……]

[The only thing that made Vassell a little happy last week was probably Qin Miao winning the Grand Prix.]

【I won’t perform anymore. 】

[I feel like Vasseur was happier to see Qin Miao win than to see you win. @Leclerc]

Leclerc: [The double champion's achievements are something that ordinary people like us can compare to? ]

Qin Miao: [What are you talking about here?]

Leclerc: [/What does the funny defending champion think of Vasseur's expression? ]

Qin Miao; [/Spread my hands. How can I watch it? Watch it in the hotel.]

Leclerc: [Speaking human language]

Qin Miao: [Is it possible that your performance made Vassell see no hope, so he put all his attention on me]

Leclerc: [It’s possible. Then it will depend on you, the triple crown winner, to come to Ferrari and turn the tide]

Qin Miao: [It has begun. Someone has started to flatter. ]

[If I lose my third WDC, I will blame you, Leclerc, because it is you who took away my championship milk. Then you will not be the godfather of my daughter.]

Zhou Guanyu: [I agree, this is good. A normal child only needs a godfather. What is the point of having a godfather?]

Leclerc: [Get lost, you scum who didn’t even make the top 10 in the standings]

Zhou Guanyu: [Fuck, give me a Ferrari, and see if I can get into the top ten in the standings]

……

After chatting for a while, Qin Miao took out his cell phone, checked the time, and then went out.

He also has an appointment today.

After a 15-minute walk, Qin Miao arrived at the Silverstone Circuit from home and went to a cafe next to the track.

When Qin Miao came over, Qin Miao's chief technician Reyes was already waiting there.

After seeing Qin Miao coming, the other party stood up and hugged Qin Miao with a smile.

"Long time no see, how was your weekend?"

"Taking care of my daughter and spending time with my family, I live a pretty comfortable life." Qin Miao replied with a smile.

Afterwards, the two separated, and Reyes sat down and said with a smile: "You must be very happy after having a daughter, right? I can't imagine how happy I would be if I had such a little cutie by my side."

After hearing what Reyes said, Qin Miao smiled bitterly, ordered a cup of coffee and then said, "You are not married yet, so you don't know how harmful children are. When you grow up and have a family and children, you will know that although children look cute on the outside, they are actually little demons that disturb your sleep." However, after complaining, Qin Miao did not forget to add, "But it is undeniable that the little guy does touch my heart all the time."

Reyes: "Don't say that. It makes me not want to have children anymore."

"By the way, why did you ask me to come here this time?"

Seeing that the other party had brought up the serious matter, Qin Miao stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point: "You also know that I will be switching to Ferrari next season. However, it takes time to adapt to a new environment, get familiar with the people around you, and the work process of a team. So I want to take you to Ferrari. After all, we have worked together for so long and we are familiar with each other. Going to a new environment can save me a lot of unnecessary steps."

Reyes lowered his head and took a sip of coffee.

After seeing the other party's look, Qin Miao said, "I also know that your contract with Mercedes-Benz will not expire for another two years. As long as you agree, I can go to Toto to help you terminate your contract with Mercedes-Benz. If Mercedes-Benz disagrees, I can also help you pay the penalty. However, these are the worst-case scenarios. Given my relationship with Mercedes-Benz, it is likely that the other party will give you face and let you go directly."

Reyes shook his head: "That's not what I'm worried about. I actually hope to continue working with you. Maybe you don't know that our team is the one Hamilton's team members most want to join in the Mercedes team."

Qin Miao was really surprised. He had never heard of this before, so he asked curiously, "Why?"

"In your car, our workload is actually much less than that of other cars. You rarely have accidents on the track, and the probability of car damage is very low. We don't need to spend time repairing the car, and we don't need to work overtime on the Grand Prix weekend. At the same time, you also know very clearly what kind of tuning you want, and once the tuning is changed, there is basically no need to re-adjust it. Therefore, in addition to the routine maintenance work during the entire Grand Prix weekend, all we need to do is to ensure the working condition of your car and that the tuning during the race has not been changed." Reyes said with a smile, and it can be seen that he was really happy when he said these things.

It's a bit like the calmness of an ordinary office worker who gets a leisurely job with high salary, little work and close to home.

Qin Miao was a little puzzled: "Isn't this a very normal thing?"

"No, compared to the other drivers, you are the abnormal one," Reyes said.

Qin Miao did not continue the conversation on this topic in depth. After all, he did not come here today to discuss this with Reyes.

"Okay, let's just take it as it is."

"So what are your concerns, what is stopping you from going to Ferrari with me?"

Reyes said: "For well-known reasons, there is a serious political struggle within Ferrari. I don't want to get involved because I don't have the brains to do so."

"And you know that Ferrari has lost a lot of things due to internal political struggles, and it has missed you. I am worried that after I go to Ferrari, I will also be dragged into it.

And don't you consider the rest of our crew?"

Qin Miao understood what he heard. Although he was talking about political struggle, he was actually afraid that he would lose his position in Ferrari.

It's normal to think about it. After all, in the Mercedes team, Reyes was the chief technician of a championship team. But if he went to Ferrari, he could only be an ordinary technician, and the salary was lower than before. Who would be happy with this?

"The reason why I only look for you in my team is actually very simple. You are single, and you happen to be my chief technician. You know a lot of my habits very well. After going to Ferrari, I don't have to re-adjust with the new chief technician. I am willing to let you do everything." Qin Miao began to answer Reyes' questions: "As for your worry... Actually, it's completely unnecessary."

"I can write you a document here. Whatever position you held at Mercedes, you will still hold the same position at Ferrari, and your salary will be better than at Mercedes."

After receiving Qin Miao's assurance, Reyes also smiled: "Forget about the written agreement. I believe you."

"And now that you've said that, I don't think I have any reason to refuse." Reyes stood up and stretched out his hand to Qin Miao.

"I don't think you have any reason to regret the decision you made today." Qin Miao also stood up and held Reyes' hand.

"I think so too." Reyes said after shaking hands with Qin Miao.

After they let go of each other's hands and sat down again, Reyes looked at Qin Miao and asked, "What about the rest of the crew?"

Qin Miao said: "If they are willing to come, then I welcome them, but they are not like you. Most of them have already started a family in the UK. Even if they are not, they have either bought a property in the local area or are locals."

"I don't think it's likely that they would want to go to Brackley with us. Not everyone is as carefree as you are."

"That's right." Reyes nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "I will try to persuade them. If they agree..."

"I can handle it all. Believe me, I will warmly welcome anyone who can join my crew."

"I feel much more at ease with your words."

Qin Miao smiled and said, "Why? Do you think I'm an unkind person? How come you don't trust me at all after being together for so long? All these years of affection have gone to waste."

"No, it's just that after working in this industry for a long time, it's inevitable that you will meet all kinds of people. It's just that I don't have basic trust in people. It's not against you."

Qin Miao: "You just don't trust me!"

Reyes raised his hands in surrender: "I give up."

Next, the two chatted again, and Qin Miao’s main purpose of coming to see Reyes today was achieved.

During the remaining period of time, the topics between the two became much more relaxed, mainly revolving around some things that happened between the two on the court in the past.

After chatting for more than an hour, Qin Miao and Reyes separated.

After returning home, Qin Miao called Toto first.

After all, it's only a matter of time before Reyes leaves Mercedes. As long as Toto agrees, joining Ferrari will be no problem for Qin Miao.

Qin Miao didn't waste any words on Toto's side, even though Toto felt a little upset that Qin Miao was leaving next season. He even felt a little unhappy after waking up at night with insomnia: Can't make it to Ferrari?
But Toto had no reason to refuse Qin Miao's small requests.

And even if Toto wanted to refuse, Qin Miao had enough money to pay Reyes the penalty. Toto also didn't want his relationship with Qin Miao to become strained after Qin Miao left, so letting Reyes go was just a favor.

After thanking Toto, Qin Miao called Wasser again.

He also told the other party that two of his people would join Ferrari after the end of this season.

Vasseur said, "Although I can help you with this matter, you don't need to come to me. You have the power to appoint and dismiss your crew members. You can go directly to the head of the human resources department and tell him. He will handle the onboarding process for these people. Because of their experience at Mercedes-Benz, these people don't need to be re-evaluated."

Qin Miao sighed: "It's a big change in my identity in such a short time, I'm not used to it. Thanks for the reminder, I'll go find him now."

"Okay, pay attention. After all, you are asking someone to do something for you, so be polite when you speak."

"Okay, I learned a lot of long and difficult sentences when I was in school..."

"Well... never mind that. He's Italian."

……

After communicating with the people from Ferrari, Qin Miao finally let go of the matter in his heart.

After this matter was dealt with, Qin Miao no longer had to worry about his adaptability after going to Ferrari.

There is no need to consider the adaptability of the racing car; the unity of man and car is Qin Miao’s best adaptability.

As for the adaptation of personnel, the track has Frankie, who is a track engineer who has been working with Qin Miao since F2. The two can be considered old partners. There will be no problem going to Ferrari with Qin Miao. He will be responsible for adapting to Ferrari's work processes, and Qin Miao only needs to familiarize himself with Ferrari's cars.

Reyes is in charge of the racing, and it is also his job to adapt. He needs to train Qin Miao's crew technicians into the style that Qin Miao is familiar with.

It can be said that Qin Miao now has basically no worries.

After completing these, Qin Miao continued to train. Although the Villeneuve Circuit in Australia did not change its layout like other circuits this season, and therefore Qin Miao's proficiency in this track did not change much, the characteristics of the Mercedes-Benz car this season are different from last season, and Qin Miao still needs to find the adaptation between the car and the track on the track.

So until Thursday, Qin Miao spent most of his time on simulator training.

This may also be a unique advantage for Qin Miao, because during the Grand Prix he basically does not need to participate in local activities and record videos like other drivers.

He can spend all his time training.

Soon it was Thursday and Qin Miao went to the paddock.

I won’t go into detail about the pre-race press conference, pre-race driver meeting and even the entire track walk on Thursday.

Because this was just a normal Grand Prix Thursday, there weren't even any fans in the paddock, so there's really not much to say.

But once practice started on Friday, there was a lot of fun on the track.

At the beginning of the first practice, Qin Miao and Hamilton, in accordance with Mercedes' usual practice, did not release the two cars immediately, but waited in the maintenance lane before releasing the cars to let the two drivers go out for practice.

However, this wait made the two drivers embarrassed because a red flag appeared on the track.

Qin Miao and Hamilton were trapped at the exit of the maintenance area and could only wait at the entrance of the maintenance area. For a moment, they were both confused. What was going on?
Following Franky's team TR, Qin Miao realized that Gasly's car had a problem and stopped near T8 and couldn't move.

There was no yellow flag during the practice session, so the red flag was used directly.

In fact, this was nothing. Gasly's car was removed, the red flag was withdrawn, and the practice session could continue.

This is normal for a game.

But the shitty thing is, the event control center discovered that their camera was broken.

These are not the cameras used for broadcasting, but the cameras used for speed measurement and replaying penalties.

So for safety reasons, the event control center immediately suspended the game and began to fix these problems.

And this repair lasted until the end of the first training session.

The entire practice session lasted only three minutes in total. Even the unlucky Qin Miao and Hamilton did not come out of the exit of the maintenance area. Later, it was Franky and his team who pushed Qin Miao and Hamilton's cars back to the team's P room.

There was nothing else for the entire first practice session afterwards, it was always under red flag conditions, and all the spectators who were watching the practice session were watching marmots on the track.

The training session ended so hastily.

The race organizers also knew that they were primarily responsible for this practice session, and that the drivers' missed practice session would not only result in a loss of speed, but also a safety hazard.

After all, not all drivers are Qin Miao, Hamilton or Verstappen. There will always be some drivers who need practice races to familiarize themselves with the track.

Therefore, the final compensation from the tournament side was that the second practice session started 30 minutes earlier, extending the original one-hour practice session to one and a half hours.

The second training session was not smooth sailing, but instead there were constant accidents.

First, Hulkenberg's car caught fire, triggering a red flag.

Once again, Ocon's car suffered a hydraulic failure, that is, a problem with the brake pedal, and stopped on the track, triggering another red flag.

The only good news this time was that there was no problem with the camera at the event control center after the red flag and the race was not suspended. The bad news was that as time went on, the sky over the track began to be overcast and it was about to rain.

Finally, before the end of the second practice, it started raining on the track, and the rain could be described as heavy.

In a very short time, some specific corners of the Villeneuve Circuit were turned into small puddles of water.

When Qin Miao drove up, he felt that the bottom of his car was changed direction by the impact of the waves after the tires pressed up.

After returning to the team's P room, Qin Miao was a little worried about the weather, but the extensive practice during this period allowed Qin Miao to accumulate a lot of experience in fighting in the rain, so Qin Miao was still confident in today's race.

Finally, the second training session ended here.

In the end, Qin Miao and Hamilton ranked first and second respectively.

This result is mainly due to the good performance of the two Mercedes drivers in this Grand Prix weekend. At the same time, the team first let the two drivers conduct long-distance tests on the track and conduct qualifying simulations before the rain got heavier.

The majority of teams capable of competing for the top spots had testing times that were completely the opposite.

But no matter what, the ranking of the practice match can only be used as a reference at best and has no practical significance.

Moreover, there were constant unexpected situations on the track during the practice session, and the rhythm of many drivers was interrupted by red flags on the track.

If we really want to see the speed of each driver on this track, we have to wait until tomorrow's qualifying session.

After Friday, Qin Miao received news from the team’s meteorological department that it would rain tomorrow as well, and that the rain tomorrow would be as heavy as it was at the end of the second practice today.

Qin Miao was helpless, but in order to catch up with Verstappen for a few more points on the track this Grand Prix weekend, Qin Miao could only use all the 8 skill points he had saved this season on his ability to fight in the rain.

Now Qin Miao's ability to fight in the rain has returned to 90 points.

It is worth mentioning that Qin Miao discovered that his talent ceiling in Yu Zhan did not seem to be 80 points.

As he spent a lot of time practicing rain fighting, Qin Miao found that his rain fighting ability finally stopped at 82 and would not decline any more.

Qin Miao guessed that his talent in driving in the rain might really be only 80 points. After all, he was not as blessed as Verstappen, who had been practiced driving in the rain by his father since he was a child.

Therefore, I am indeed a little lacking in Yu Zhan's ability which completely relies on feeling.

However, Qin Miao continued to work hard in the later period and finally broke through the upper limit of his talent.

The reason why he was so sure was that Qin Miao had been lazy for a while.

It can't be said that he is lazy. During the off-season, Qin Miao certainly doesn't want to spend every day in training. He must give his body and mind some rest.

During this period, Qin Miao was basically in a state that had never been touched by any simulator, but despite this, Qin Miao's ability to fight in the rain was still 82 points.

Qin Miao also came to this conclusion from this.

But no matter what, the skill points have been invested. In the qualifying stage of today's race, if it continues to rain, Qin Miao will have the possibility to compete with Verstappen and Hamilton for the pole position on the track.

Although the Villeneuve Circuit appears to have a lot of straights from the thumbnail image of the track, it does seem to be quite suitable for the W14 to perform.

But in fact, only the second and third timing segments are more in line with the characteristics of W14, but the rainy day makes up for this. After all, W14, a typical high-horsepower rear-wheel drive car, cannot play its advantage in acceleration ability when the rear wheel grip is insufficient.

It may even become a disadvantage, because on a wet track, the car is very slippery before the speed is increased. If you step on the accelerator a little harder, the car will spin like a top.

Saturday is the day when the third practice and qualifying begin.

Before the third practice session today, it was still raining heavily on the track.

At the beginning of the third practice session, Qin Miao used full rain tires for the first time this season.

There really was nothing we could do about it; it was raining so heavily on the track.

If you don't use full rain tires, semi-rain tires may not be able to grip the ground on the track.

The third practice session went relatively smoothly for Qin Miao. During this process, Qin Miao made several modifications to his car tuning, but he finally got the most comfortable tuning settings for himself before the end of the third practice session.

Time for qualifying.

It was still raining on the track at this time, but the rain was not as heavy as during the practice session, so the drivers could change to semi-rain tires and continue to set laps.

Just as qualifying began, Zhou Guanyu's car had a problem and stopped on the track, triggering a yellow flag.

Later, because Zhou Guanyu's car stalled, the yellow flag turned into a red flag.

After all, qualifying is different from practice, and time is precious for all drivers, so the countdown for qualifying is stopped during the red flag stage.

Just when all the domestic fans watching the qualifying race thought that Zhou Guanyu was about to retire, Arrow's tractor was restarted with Zhou Guanyu's own efforts, and finally drove back to the maintenance area.

Also because of Zhou Guanyu's restart, the red flag on the track was cancelled.

At this point, someone might ask, doesn't a normal F1 car need a starter stick to start? How can Zhou Guanyu's car start on its own on the track?
In fact, F1 cars have a self-starting function, but this consumes a lot of battery power.

Because the self-starting function of an F1 car is accomplished by its own electric motor, which is a big power consumer, especially when driving the start of an engine.

A single start will basically use up 30% of the battery's total power.

Zhou Guanyu returned to the team's P room during the red flag period, and then, outrageously, he repaired the car and returned to the track before the red flag ended.

Domestic car fans who saw this scene didn’t know whether to praise Arrow or scold him for a moment.

……

After the race restarted, Qin Miao, who was notoriously lazy in qualifying, was called onto the track by the team and started to lap continuously.

When the clock stopped for Q1, Qin Miao crossed the finish line five seconds away, so he had no chance to cross the line and run his last flying lap of Q1 before the race stopped.

But despite this, Qin Miao still advanced to Q2 and ranked third.

There is no way around it. Qin Miao is naturally fast, so his performance will naturally be better after he can no longer perform.

Zhou Guanyu did not enter Q2.

It’s not that Zhou Guanyu’s ability to fight in the rain is weak. Qin Miao even feels that Zhou Guanyu’s ability to fight in the rain is stronger than his own ability in normal state.

According to my own system's scoring, it would be around 85~86.

After all, he has been driving racing cars since he was a child, so he still has a sense of cars.

But today, something was wrong with Zhou Guanyu after his car stopped on the track.

After the race, when Qin Miao asked Zhou Guanyu in the group, Zhou Guanyu said that the overall feel of the car was not right after it was repaired, and ultimately he did not achieve a good result.

In this regard, Qin Miao and Leclerc both agreed: This is Arrow.

As a result, Zhou Guanyu was eliminated in the twentieth place.

In Q2, Albon used soft tires from the start.

Because the rain on the track had stopped in the second half of Q1, and as the drivers continued to drive and the water stains on the track naturally evaporated from the end of Q1 to Q2, clear driving lines could be seen on the track.

So it is normal for Williams, who loves gambling, to make this bet.

As the first person to try it out, Albon naturally relied on the team's radical judgment and his own excellent driving to take first place in the first lap of Q2.

With Albon leading the way, the other drivers also rushed into the pits to change to soft tires.

However, the window for the rain to stop was only long enough, and the drivers who entered the pit to change tires later had already missed the best time to do so.

After coming out, the track conditions began to deteriorate slowly, and therefore they were unable to break Albon's lap time on the track, but kept breaking records behind Albon.

And there was another unlucky guy on the track in Q2, that was Leclerc.

In the last two minutes, it was drizzling on the track and the original driving line of the track was wetted by the rain again.

But despite this, Leclerc told the team that he wanted to pit for soft tires.

But it was rejected by Ferrari.

After Leclerc entered the pit, Ferrari replaced his tires with semi-rain tires.

Then Leclerc's intermediate tyres did not reach the right operating temperature for the rest of the race.

Therefore, Leclerc's last flying lap did not achieve a satisfactory result.
In the end, Leclerc was eliminated in 11th place.

After getting off the car, Leclerc looked very irritable.

It can be seen that Leclerc is really angry.

But there was no way, Leclerc had been eliminated.

Leclerc has never envied Qin Miao's right to disobey the team's instructions on the track as much as he does now. (End of this chapter)