How did I become an F1 driver?

Mercedes mainly relied on the stable performance of Qin Miao and Hamilton. Due to a car failure in the qualifying stage, Leclerc wasted a lot of time when struggling in the slow car pile in the later stage, so that Leclerc was in the race. Didn't get a good result in the later period.

Moreover, Qin Miao also killed Sainz in front of him in the final stage of the race and won second place.

Thanks to these two factors, Mercedes has now secured second place in the standings and is seven points ahead of Ferrari.

In fact, these seven points were obtained by Mercedes relying on the stability of the car.

After the Canadian Grand Prix, it is the British Grand Prix that everyone is looking forward to.

This is also the home stadium of Mercedes-Benz Racing Team.

Because the F1 sport originally developed in the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom is also the main gathering and working place for F1 practitioners. Many teams have their factories and R&D bases in the United Kingdom, so this is the home stadium of most F1 teams.

Naturally, that includes Mercedes.

For Hamilton, this is his double home ground.

And at the same time, after the game, Qin Miao, who was still happy about finishing second in the Canadian Grand Prix, received good news.

All three of the team's upgrades have been developed and are certain to be used at the British Grand Prix.

According to the adjusted simulator data, these three upgrades can increase the lap speed of the car by at least 0.2 seconds.

Although this improvement is not huge, the rear suspension and new floor design can effectively increase the consistency and predictability of the car.

The most important thing is to expand the tuning window of the car so that Qin Miao and Hamilton can have different tuning options on different tracks.

At the same time, work in the simulator department is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

However, including bug repairs and final debugging tests, we still have to wait until the eve of the British Grand Prix to get a final result.

Although the time may still be a little tight, the team has a simulator that can be used.

The research and development speed of racing car upgrades can also be increased accordingly.

This week, Zhou Guanyu was no longer autistic. After the race, Lele bragged in a group of riders.

But there is one thing to say, Zhou Guanyu's performance this week is indeed worthy of bragging. No matter what, he defeated his teammates and Bottas. This is basically the best way for a rookie driver to show his strength.

After the game, Qin Miao did not return to Monaco. Instead, he took his technicians directly back to the UK by plane.

After all, he is a technician for the Mercedes team, and basically everyone on the Qin Miao team lives in the UK.

Even those who don’t live in the UK live nearby.

Although the technicians were provided with food, accommodation and round-trip economy class air tickets by the team, the dates of the air tickets were all on Tuesday.

The reason is that it is the Tuesday after the Grand Prix, not Monday, and not the same day.

Mainly because it would take until Monday night for the team's staff to pack all the team's supplies, so it would normally be Tuesday.

At that time, everyone can take a flight back, which will save money for the team.

There is nothing you can do about it. When there was no budget cap in the past, the Mercedes team was not so picky. Basically, after a grand prix is ​​over, you can leave whenever you want. Then you can just take the invoice to the team for reimbursement.

But things are different now.

All teams have strict budget restrictions, so they can save money wherever they can, and don't worry about being comfortable.

After the game is over, everyone naturally wants to go home early to rest or spend time with their families.

After all, the salary of team technicians is not very high, and it is not cheap to book a plane ticket to fly back to the UK from Canada. Anyone who loses 1/5 of a month's salary by flying will feel sad.

Qin Miao was just preparing to return to the UK after the game on Sunday. During the dinner party in the evening, he casually mentioned it and asked who wanted to go with him.

Then Qin Miao returned to the UK with all the staff of his crew.

After getting off the plane, Qin Miao said goodbye to his colleagues one by one, and took a car back to his home in Brackley.

After that, Qin Miao rested comfortably at home for two days.

However, when the third day came, Qin Miao returned to the team and began his work as a professional driver.

It is worth mentioning that when Qin Miao was at the team headquarters, she overheard Hamilton's nutritionist chatting with Barber about Hamilton's recent schedule.

It was really like going to a market. In the morning, I went to a company to attend a party, and at the same time, I also attended a catwalk show. At noon, I seemed to have dinner with a celebrity, in the afternoon, I went to shoot a magazine, and there was a dinner in the evening.

And the work intensity is basically the same for several days in a row.

Qin Miao was a little stunned after hearing this.

Should we say that we are worthy of the pride of the British in the sport of F1?
My home Grand Prix is ​​already so busy even before it officially starts.

Qin Miao suddenly had a bad premonition. If the domestic grand prix is ​​held again next year or the year after, will he be as busy?
Will as soon as I land in China, as long as I nod my head, someone will fill up all my schedules, including various activities, meeting various people, parties, chats, and interviews.

Qin Miao couldn't help but shuddered when she thought of this.

Qin Miao silently decided in his heart that if the domestic grand prix was held, he would never participate in any activities or interviews, and would just adjust his condition and do his best to run well in the competition.

After all, for a driver, the most important thing is results and your performance on the track.

I was busy with the team until August 8th.

On this day, Qin Miao still got up in the morning, took a shower after completing his daily exercise in the gym, had lunch and then went to the team.

However, what surprised Qin Miao was that many people came to the team today, even Hamilton, who has been extremely busy in the past few days, also came.

After seeing these people, Qin Miao knew that something big was going to happen in the team today.

Sure enough, after Qin Miao arrived in his office, Barber came over soon and informed Qin Miao that he would have a meeting later.

Qin Miao tidied up a little and went to the team's conference room.

Qin Miao is already quite familiar with this place.

Different from previous team meetings, there were many acquaintances of Qin Miao in the meeting room today, but they were not seen in ordinary meetings.

These are the guys in charge of the simulator for the team.

In the past, they rarely came to meetings because it was not necessary. All it took was one person in charge. This time, the entire department came.

The main job of the simulator department is to help test the performance of new components, provide evaluations, and proofread data.

Seeing them in the conference room today, Qin Miao knew for sure that the simulator department had completed all the simulator upgrades, and the team's simulator bugs should have been fixed.

For some reason, Qin Miao suddenly started to look forward to it.

The content of the subsequent meeting also proved this point. The head of the simulator department personally came to the stage to make a report.

I briefly talked about the problems currently discovered in the simulator of the Mercedes-Benz team, when the corresponding modifications were made, and what specific effects these modifications will have. Finally, it was announced amidst the applause and cheers of everyone in the team. All bugs and problems in the team simulator have been fixed, and the Mercedes-Benz team's car development will be back on track.

After the head of the simulator department finished speaking, other senior leaders of the team came up to report on their work and explain the work arrangements of their departments in the coming period.

Finally, the two drivers Qin Miao and Hamilton took the stage to cheer up the team staff.

Although speaking within the team, the main people who talk are still the team leader and the chief technical officer and technical director.

But it is undeniable that within the Mercedes-Benz team, the influence of the two world champions Qin Miao and Hamilton is stronger in the hearts of most lower-level employees than Toto and the others.

Many people even joined the Mercedes team because they wanted to work with Qin Miao and Hamilton.

After some encouragement, the meeting was almost over. Toto came on stage and made a summary, and then everyone returned to their respective jobs.

Qin Miao, Hamilton and the team's test driver De Vries couldn't wait to come to the team's simulator department.

Then, as the two of them watched in surprise, Qin Miao entered the car tuning of his last Canadian Grand Prix into the computer. He was the first to enter the team's simulator and began to test the simulator's data on the track. Is it consistent with real racing?

After all, even if he is as powerful as Hamilton, he will not remember how he set up the car in the first place.

Qin Miao, who was on the simulator, was pleasantly surprised to find that after running two flight laps on the simulator, Qin Miao didn't feel any difference between the simulator's simulation data and when he ran on the track last week. place.

The racing speed was still the same, but at least the simulator gave Qin Miao accurate feedback.

This can be regarded as solving the basic problem of the team's development in the ground effect era. Once the foundation is laid, the team will build a new high-rise building on this foundation.

However, the budget for the rest of this season is also limited, and the team is not ready to give up the development of W13 this season.

Therefore, resources that are not much in the first place will be directly halved.

Of course, this is not a headache for drivers like Qin Miao and Hamilton. It is Toto and Elliott who should worry about them.

After briefly experiencing the simulator, which he had not touched for a long time, Qin Miao climbed out of the monocoque used by the simulator.

Hamilton helped Qin Miao, and after Qin Miao came down and stood up, he asked curiously: "How do you feel? Your lap speed in the two laps just now is quite good."

Qin Miao smiled and signaled to De Vries that he could go up and try, and then said to Hamilton: "You can tell it by looking at the results, right? I ran this result without getting used to it. It only means that the simulator has been improved. "Okay, okay!" Hamilton clenched his fist fiercely, and then looked at De Vries, who had just sat in the monocoque of the car without even wearing a seat belt.

His eyes were full of impulse.

Qin Miao had a feeling that at this moment, Hamilton really wanted to rush over, pull De Vries out of the monocoque, and sit in and run two laps himself.

However, Hamilton finally resisted his impulse, found a seat with Qin Miao and sat down, waiting for De Vries' test to end.

De Vries didn't run for long and climbed out of the monocoque in about 10 minutes.

In fact, De Vries, who has never actually driven an F1 car, has no way of feeling whether the performance of the current racing simulator has been improved and whether it is consistent with the racing car.

But Qin Miao had just tested it in front, and the world champion can never be wrong, so after De Vries came down, he also gave the team a new simulator to confirm.

Next up is Hamilton who can't wait.

……

After the team's simulator problem was solved at a speed that no one expected, Qin Miao's work returned to the same two-point and one-line life between the team and home as last season.

As if it was retaliatory research and development, Qin Miao had just returned to daily work and was working day and night with De Vries to help the team test new components and collect data.

What Qin Miao saw alone were four different side cases and bottom panel designs.

Although Qin Miao knew that many parts were prepared for next season's racing car, he was still a little surprised by such work efficiency.

Even because of this, the relationship between Qin Miao and Dove has become much better.

Although he is not as good as Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc, he is still a good friend.

Time always flies when you are immersed in work.

By the time Qin Miao reacted, it was already Thursday.

The British Grand Prix is ​​about to begin.

As the home stadium and one of the birthplaces of the F1 sport, the streets and alleys of the UK are filled with the atmosphere of F1.

Advertisements, events, and posters promoting F1 can be seen everywhere in the streets of the UK.

Even Qin Miao, who usually doesn't participate in many activities, was begged by the team to participate in many activities, such as TV interviews and variety show recordings.

Fortunately, the team did not forget to leave two hours for Qin Miao to walk on the track.

Although Qin Miao is already very familiar with the Silverstone circuit, and even the Silverstone circuit is not far from Qin Miao's home.

He also came here to test the Mercedes-Benz AMG ONE, and he also drove his own car here to compete.

But our ancestors have a good saying: By reviewing the past and learning the new, you can become a teacher.

Thursday went by quickly.

Friday is the day when first and second practice begins.

All three upgrades from Mercedes-Benz have been implemented this week.

One is the rear suspension, which increases the rigidity of the rear suspension, increases the stability of the car at high speeds, expands the tuning window, and most importantly reduces dolphin jumping.

One is the modification of the bottom plate, which optimizes the shape of the venturi channel inlet and the shape of the vortex generator at the edge of the bottom plate.

This upgrade can slightly reduce drag, better sort out the airflow within the base plate, increase the vortex intensity of the vortex generator at the edge of the base plate, and guide the vortex to better adhere to the edge of the base plate, giving the base plate a better seal. sex, reducing the occurrence of dolphin jumps.

It is also linked with the next upgrade of the front nose of the car.

However, Qin Miao had already received notice before that this upgrade would be the last upgrade to the racing floor this season.

Because the entire F1 car is made of carbon fiber, there is no way to melt it and recast it like steel after it is finalized.

After the carbon fiber is finalized, it can only look like that.

So this time the chassis modification is to build a new chassis for the two riders, and there are also two spare parts for the chassis.

With four chassis down, the team spent nearly three million U.S. dollars. Considering the current team’s budget for the W13, it is considered a huge investment.

The final upgrade is the car’s front wing.

The overall appearance of the front nose has not changed much. The most obvious change is that a piece of wing surface has been removed from the wing root of the front nose.

The normal Mercedes front nose has four wings, the inner and outer surfaces are the same, and the whole is arranged at an upward angle. The purpose is naturally to provide stronger downforce for the car.

Normally, after removing this wing, the downforce at the front of the car will inevitably decrease.

However, after almost a quarter of a season, the team has a deeper understanding of the current ground-effect racing cars. That is, the total amount of downforce provided by the chassis of the racing cars in this era is not only 60% but 75%. .

After re-evaluating the W13, the team found that its own engine was actually not too bad. At least compared with Ferrari's engine, the horsepower output may only be about 5 horses less.

The reason why it was beaten by Ferrari and Red Bull on the straights and during acceleration was mainly because Mercedes' own aerodynamic design provided too much downforce to the car.

Especially the tail.

At the same time, the downforce of the ground-effect floor designed by the Mercedes-Benz team itself is also somewhat unbalanced, and the center point of the downforce is too far back.

Therefore, the characteristics of the car on the track will make the front end of the car relatively light and the steering too sensitive. Hamilton will naturally be a little uncomfortable driving.

At this time, someone will ask, since the problem of the car is excessive downforce, and this problem also occurs in the rear, why not change the rear wing, but change the front nose?

This involves the overall issue of racing.

All the components of the F1 car are not independent. They are combined into a whole and work together to exert their own characteristics and advantages on this car. The components complement each other, so that we have a sufficiently competitive car. Racing.

As for the rear spoiler, due to FIA rules, there are very few places that can be modified, modifications are also difficult, and most importantly... expensive.

A new rear spoiler costs at least US$100 million from design to manufacturing.

For the Mercedes team, which already has a budget cap, this is not a small amount of money, not to mention that half of the money spent on upgrading the car this season will be used to develop the car for next season.

In comparison, the front nose wing is much cheaper, and the adjustment of the front nose wing is more about subtraction and less addition.

The most important thing is that the reduced wing surface corresponds to the entrance of the Venturi channel of the Mercedes racing car.

After the reduction, the airflow throughput of the Venturi channel can be increased. At that time, both the airflow in the base plate and the vortex quality, speed and sealing degree generated by the vortex generator will be higher.

The most important thing is that the weight of the car's floor is higher than that of the front nose and rear wing.

Therefore, for the aerodynamic designers of Mercedes-Benz Racing Team, among the three upgrades this week, only this one truly makes them satisfied and happy.

After seeing their new car, Qin Miao and Hamilton studied together for more than an hour after the pre-race meeting. The two discussed their understanding of the design and purpose of the new car, and judged the performance of this car. Which direction does the car need to be adjusted specifically?

After the first practice started, Qin Miao and Hamilton took to the track immediately.

The moment after driving on the track, the two of them felt that this car was different from before.

Qin Miao feels that the problem of the car's front end being too sensitive has been alleviated a lot, and it is much more comfortable to drive.

Hamilton's most intuitive feeling is that in high-speed corners, the car's grip is stronger, and under a light load of fuel, the car's dolphin jump will only occur after the track's straight speed reaches 310 kilometers per hour. will occur, and the amplitude is very small.

Apart from this, the car will only jump like a dolphin when there are bumps on the track, and the amplitude is not large, and it will disappear after two jumps.

In short, after the first practice session, both drivers gave extremely positive comments on the upgraded cars.

What makes all Mercedes fans happy is that in the first and second practice stages, the two Mercedes cars rarely directly took first and second place.

However, in terms of competition with his teammates, Qin Miao still took first place in the first practice with a single lap speed that was 0.05 seconds faster than Hamilton.

After taking a short break after practice, Qin Miao and Hamilton shared their feelings on the track and the details of car tuning.

The second practice has begun.

If Qin Miao was still immersed in excitement and happiness during the first practice, during the second practice, Qin Miao's car poured cold water on Qin Miao and the Mercedes team.

At the beginning of the second practice, Qin Miao didn't feel anything wrong with his car when he just drove onto the track. As he ran, Qin Miao felt that the car's engine was overheating through his own skills.

Just when Qin Miao was about to talk to the team about the problem of the car, a cluster of open flames and white smoke appeared directly behind the exhaust pipe of the car.

Normal drivers cannot see the fire behind the butt of their car now, and although there is an open flame, the flames on Qin Miao's car this time were not too big.

But Qin Miao had the skill of combining man and car, and he felt it as soon as the butt of the car caught fire.

In the end, of course, I found an entrance to Matthew Passage and parked my car, and a yellow flag appeared on the track.

Qin Miao's second practice ended before it even started.

This is also the first time Qin Miao has retired on the track due to a car failure since entering F1. (End of chapter)