How did I become an F1 driver?

After confirming the damage to his car, Qin Miao prepared to return to the team's P room.

The position I am in now is not very good, and the desert environment outside is not very comfortable. It would be more comfortable to go back to the team's P room and enjoy the air conditioning.

Although today is Qin Miao's first retirement in the entire 2022 season, whether it was last season, the time when he was running in F2, or the driver's meeting before each Grand Prix.

The organizers and FIA staff were instructing the drivers on where to park their cars and how to leave the track if a car broke down.

So Qin Miao didn't seem confused at this moment.

At this moment, Verstappen and Hamilton drove past Qin Miao under the leadership of the virtual safety car.

Qin Miao gave Hamilton a thumbs up without thinking.

Hamilton naturally saw his teammate's gesture, but sitting in the car he couldn't make any big movements, so he could only stretch out his hand and wave in the direction of Qin Miao.

After seeing Hamilton's actions, Qin Miao did not stay on the track for long, and helped Matthew and others push their cars off the track.

What Qin Miao didn't know was that this photo was taken by the photographers who were everywhere on the track.

This photo just captures Qin Miao's car, Qin Miao's own movements and Hamilton on the track.

This photo inexplicably has a sense of fate of the alternation between the old and the new.

It is said that this photo was eventually bought from the photographer by the Mercedes team for 15 euros, and eventually became Toto's computer desktop.

After Qin Miao left the track, there happened to be a Matthew waiting for him there on a scooter.

Qin Miao walked over and asked, "Can we go to the team's P room here?"

The other party nodded and gave Qin Miao a thumbs up.

After getting a satisfactory answer, Qin Miao sat on the back seat of the scooter and fastened the goggles of his helmet.

On the way back, Qin Miao was waving and greeting the fans at the scene.

After all, he is this year's world champion, so during the safety car period, the director gave Qin Miao a lot of aerial tracking shots on the way back to the team's P room on a motorcycle.

"Although it is a pity to withdraw from today's game." Looking at Qin Miao who was still greeting the audience in the car, Bing Ge explained: "But at least from the state Qin Miao showed at this moment, withdrawing from today's game did not cause too much psychological burden to Qin Miao. At least from the current performance, Qin Miao's mentality is still quite stable."

Instead, Fei Ge said with some reluctance: "But after Qin Miao retired from the race today, we will have to wait nearly 4 months before we can see Qin Miao in the F1 race again."

Zhou Haoran, who was standing by, was a little uncomfortable after hearing what Fei Ge said: "Indeed, we have to wait for the entire winter break."

Brother Fei said: "To be honest, I didn't feel this way during the winter break before. It was just a normal vacation for us. But since Qin Miao has made a name for himself on the court, I have basically been counting the days whether it is the summer break or the winter break."

Hearing what Fei Ge said, the other two commentators also smiled: "After all, with Qin Miao's race, he will give us hope, and our expectations on Qin Miao will never be in vain. With such a driver competing on the track, who doesn't like to watch it?"

"Perhaps the only drawback is that the aftereffects of watching Qin Miao's games are too strong, and I can't give it up in a short period of time."

It is not difficult to hear from the words of the three commentators that although everyone felt sorry for Qin Miao's withdrawal, like Qin Miao, they did not feel bad about his withdrawal. On the contrary, what caused them more stimulation than the regret of Qin Miao's withdrawal was the fact that there were no games to watch during the winter break.

On the way back to the team's P room, everyone in the Mercedes team accepted the fact that Qin Miao had withdrawn from the race.

In fact, if Hamilton defeated Verstappen and Verstappen's car had problems and he retired, Mercedes would still have a chance of winning this race.

But Perez gave Mercedes the final shovel of dirt.

After driving the car with a flat tire back to the pit area, the team replaced Perez with new tires and front wing. After leaving the pit area, Perez's speed did not slow down because of the accident, but became faster instead.

From the moment Perez came out of the pit lane, Mercedes had completely lost the possibility of competing for the Constructors' World Championship in this race.

But you can't blame the two Mercedes drivers for this.

After all, the unfavorable start to this season was caused by Mercedes' R&D department itself.

Even the opportunity to compete for the team championship was thanks to Qin Miao's own personal ability. He carried the Mercedes team to this position alone.

It was Mercedes' own fault for losing the constructors' championship.

When Qin Miao returned to the team's P room, although everyone's faces were not very happy, they were still doing their jobs meticulously.

When Qin Miao entered the team's P room, almost everyone looked at Qin Miao.

On the way back, Qin Miao also reviewed the collision between him and Perez in his mind.

Because Qin Miao already had the map layout of the Yas Bay Marina Circuit in his mind, he was able to create a three-dimensional model of the track and car in his mind during this review.

So after reviewing the situation on the way back, Qin Miao realized that his behavior at the time was indeed a bit too impulsive.

After all, he was in front of Perez, and the W13B was famous for its fast acceleration.

After pushing Perez onto the concrete ground outside the track, his acceleration would inevitably be affected, and he had Hamilton's tailwind in front of him to absorb.

Although the straight road between T1 and T2 is not too long, with Qin Miao's ability, it is not impossible for him to withstand all the pressure from Perez behind him at this position.

Although the collision was also caused by Perez's refusal to give in, if I had not pushed Perez so hard, the accident would probably not have happened, and I would be able to continue fighting for the team's world championship on the track at this moment.
But now that things have come to this, Qin Miao can do nothing except review the incident in his mind and sigh with regret.

After returning to the team's P room, Qin Miao said hello to other colleagues, and then came to Toto. After standing still, Qin Miao said, "I'm sorry, Toto, I was a little too impulsive on the track."

Toto glanced at Qin Miao, but the reproachful words that Qin Miao expected did not come out of his mouth.

Toto didn't even think of blaming Qin Miao for anything.

What can you teach this season's world champion in the final race of the season?
Even if Qin Miao smashed W13B to pieces in this game, Toto would still praise Qin Miao for his beautiful and imaginative collision and applaud him loudly.

It is undeniable that from the perspective of the team owner, Qin Miao's behavior on the track was indeed a bit too impulsive and emotional. To put it bluntly, Qin Miao was a bit inflated and took things for granted at the time.

But if Qin Miao was not there, given the state of the Mercedes car at the beginning of the season, let alone leaving the suspense of the team championship until the last race, it might be difficult for Mercedes to compete with Ferrari for the second place in the team this season.

Reaching out and patting Qin Miao's arm, Toto comforted Qin Miao and said, "Don't blame you. This is Perez's main responsibility. We will appeal to the FIA."

"I also have good news to tell you. The penalty for Perez after this accident has been announced during the time you came back. Perez was penalized a total of 10 seconds, 2 points were deducted from his super license, and he was fined euros." After comforting Qin Miao, Toto told Qin Miao the punishment Perez received.

The severity of the punishment is just right. It will not completely ruin Perez's race, and it also gives an explanation to the Mercedes team.

While chatting, Reyes moved a stool for Qin Miao and placed it next to Toto.

It is estimated that only Qin Miao and Hamilton, two Mercedes drivers, have such treatment. Normally, even if the reserve drivers of the Mercedes team can stand behind Toto and get a glimpse of the team leader's broadcast camera at this time, they can only stand behind Toto obediently at this time, while Qin Miao and Hamilton can sit next to Toto.

In fact, there was only one monitor in front of Toto, and what was displayed on this monitor was actually the broadcast footage that the FIA ​​gave to the live audience. There was nothing special about it.

Looking at the picture on the monitor in front of Toto, Qin Miao was a little dazed for a moment.

Qin Miao couldn't remember the last time he watched a live F1 race.

Since entering F2, Qin Miao no longer watches the broadcast images, but the videos and in-car equipment specially prepared by the team for the drivers.

This is true for both F2 and F1.

This also caused Qin Miao to feel a little novel after seeing this scene.

At this time on the track, Hamilton and Verstappen were fighting fiercely.

And the battle between the two drivers in the last race of the 2022 season was extremely tense.

The W13B is famous for its fast straight speed, so in the two DRS zones, Hamilton can often quickly approach Verstappen and overtake Verstappen before the T9 braking point.

The DRS efficiency of Red Bull's car is particularly high. With DRS, coupled with Hamilton's wake, Verstappen's Red Bull car's tail speed is incredible.

Because of their respective characteristics, the two fought each other on the track in the following race. Also because of the mutual entanglement between the two, they did not get rid of Leclerc, who was much slower than them. However, despite this, Leclerc was still 3 seconds behind them and could not get close.

All we can say is that Ferrari is preparing for 2023 in advance.

However, just as Qin Miao was watching the offense and defense on the court with relish, and judging how he should defend and attack if he were Hamilton, and where Hamilton's defensive moves were not good, Qin Miao suddenly heard Toto ask: "Have you thought of a name for the child?"

Qin Miao was stunned. Eh?
Are you talking to me?
Qin Miao then reacted. With Toto's voice at that moment, only he, who was next to Toto, could hear it clearly. So if nothing unexpected happened, Toto was talking to him.

After taking his eyes off the screen in front of him, Qin Miao saw Toto looking at him.

Qin Miao's mouth twitched.

Qin Miao has been focusing all his attention on the racetrack recently, and he actually forgot to think of a name for his child.

However, it seems that my parents have already found a fortune teller at home and thought of a few names in advance, but they have not yet finalized them.

Moreover, Qin Miao was always abroad, and he didn't see Qiu Meng very often. When he was with Qiu Meng, they didn't talk about this issue, so Qin Miao naturally didn't think about this issue for a while.

So after hearing Toto's question, Qin Miao didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"I haven't thought about it yet." Qin Miao spread his hands: "Besides, it's still quite a long time before the due date. I'm thinking about the winter break and then thinking about this issue carefully."

"And Hamilton is racing on the track right now. Is it okay for you to chat with me directly?"

Toto smiled and said: "If one day you don't want to continue racing on the track, you can consider becoming the leader of an F1 team. Then you will understand why I am so relaxed now."

Qin Miao shrugged: "I feel that if I really retire one day, I will probably just sit at home and play games."

Tuotu looked at Qin Miao and said with a smile: "That's just what you think it is now. If I say too much now, it won't give you a real feeling. You will know it when the time comes."

Qin Miao curled his lips and asked, "When did Toto Wolfe become a riddle man?"
Then the two of them naturally continued talking about the topic of children.

Such as children’s living environment, healthy diet, and growth plan.

In short, just start talking about the children.

Qin Miao actually didn’t quite understand at the beginning. After all, the race was still going on and everyone was staring at the screen nervously.

What the hell, as the owner of a racing team, you stopped watching the race and started talking to me about parenting issues. What the hell is that?

And if I remember correctly, I have talked about this issue with Toto before. At that time, Toto knew more about the education and training of children.

But to be honest, Qin Miao felt that Toto's insights into children had deepened a lot this time, including which milk powders were better, which baby products would not cause excessive irritation to children's skin, and so on. He also had a basic understanding.

It is obvious that Toto has done his homework on this issue recently. At least he understands a lot more than the last time Toto talked to Qin Miao.

However, Qin Miao always felt that now was not a good time to talk about such topics. However, the team's boss Toto Wolff was very interested in this. As an employee, Qin Miao could only follow Toto's words and continue chatting with him.

However, as time went by, Toto naturally transitioned to the issue of children's education.

"Speaking of children's education, Qin Miao, do you know that the team has recently increased the benefits for team employees? There is a plan in this regard. Daimler is planning to build a comprehensive school in Brackley that includes kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school and high school."

Qin Miao was a little confused at first. What did building a school in Brackley have to do with him? Then Qin Miao listened to Toto continue: "This school is fully funded by the team as an employee benefit, so the children of team employees can study here for free, and the team will hire the best teachers for all employees' children. And you also know the size of our team, so there won't be too many students in one grade, so that the teachers' time and energy can be more evenly distributed to all the children."

After listening to what Toto said, Qin Miao gradually came to his senses.

After being together for such a long time, Qin Miao believed that Toto had roughly figured out his personality. After all, he was not a particularly ambitious person. At this stage, he was more like a salted fish with no desires in private.

But neither the Mercedes team, Toto, nor the fans of the Mercedes team want Qin Miao to leave after his 23-year contract expires.

After going around in such a big circle, Toto suddenly came into the conversation from the perspective of a child and a parent. The team provided Qin Miao with sufficient logistical support.

And if his children study by his side, Qin Miao will definitely spend more time with his children.

Having their own children study in the school established by the team will definitely increase the employees' sense of belonging to the team and their retention rate. This can be said to be a decision that kills two birds with one stone.

The qualifications and funds required to establish a school are not unacceptable for a wealthy racing team like Mercedes.

Tuqiongdagger met.

But you know what, Qin Miao was really moved by the proposal made by Toto.

After all, Qin Miao also knew that his job meant that he would not be able to spend much time at home with his wife and children throughout the year.

But it would be really comfortable if you kept your children by your side.

The problem of education has been solved, and the issue of accompanying children is no longer a problem.

However, Qin Miao was not so delicious that he lost his ability to think.

After all, Toto's words were vague, but Toto had said before that Daimler was planning to build a school in Brackley, but he did not say when the school would start construction or when it would be put into use.

So Qin Miao just smiled and nodded and said, "It's a very thoughtful decision. I believe that all my colleagues who have just got married and started a family will thank the team for this benefit. For such a large school, the construction period should be very long, right? It will probably take a lot of time to recruit people and apply for qualifications."

Toto looked at Qin Miao with some surprise.

Qin Miao's face was full of smiles at this moment, and he looked no different from when he met him three years ago, except that he looked a little more mature. However, Toto knew that Qin Miao now didn't even need to shave every day when he got up.

This is totally a child.

But for some reason, what Toto misses more at this moment is Qin Miao who was still in Ferrari’s youth training 20 years ago.

Qin Miao was really easy to communicate with at that time. A three-year professional contract could be negotiated in just a few sentences.

Unlike now, Qin Miao's driver contract has been delayed from last year to this year. He was even cautious about the bait he threw out and did not fall for it at all, nor did he make any other expressions.

With a sigh of helplessness, Toto said, "It shouldn't take too long. We have already applied for the school's qualifications and the funds are ready. Now all that's left is to choose a suitable piece of land and start preparing the school's design and recruiting teachers. If things go well, it will be done within two years and the school will open in the third year."

Qin Miao's mouth twitched. Three years from now, his daughter would be almost three years old. Even if the fleet school started construction later, his daughter would be exactly three years old, old enough to attend kindergarten, and the fleet school would start operating at this time...

If at the beginning Toto Wolff was still hiding something and didn't make things clear.

Now all the abacus beads are falling on Qin Miao's face.

Scratching his head, Qin Miao said, "So fast? I thought something as big as a school would take at least five or six years to plan and complete."

Toto smiled and said: "After all, it is a benefit for team employees. We don't need to consider revenue issues, so many processes can be simplified. We only need to ensure the safety of students and the quality of education."

"How is it? After hearing about the good employee benefits of the team, have you ever thought about letting your children go to school in the team's school in the future?"

After talking about the benefits of the team welfare, Toto began his own persuasion.

To be honest, Qin Miao was indeed tempted by Toto's employee benefits. After all, when thinking of his own children, Qin Miao would definitely want to give his children the best educational resources. At the same time, he also hoped that he would have enough time to accompany his children after work. However, these were not easy things for Qin Miao, who traveled around the world all year round.

And it is impossible for Qin Miao to travel around the world with his daughter.

That's not a problem when she's young, but when she grows up she will definitely need to go to school.

So we have to say that Mercedes' move is indeed meaningful.

"Of course, with such good conditions, I think I have no reason to refuse. But I may have to wait a little longer. My child hasn't been born yet." Qin Miao spread his hands.

After hearing Qin Miao's words, Toto just smiled and didn't say anything clearly.

School does cost a lot of money and is also very troublesome.

But despite this, the school that the Mercedes team had gone through so much trouble to set up actually could not play any decisive role in the negotiations with Qin Miao, and it was even just a bonus.

But this is indeed the benefit that Mercedes-Benz has prepared for the team members, eliminating their worries.

After all, the purpose of providing benefits to the team’s employees is mainly to retain the team’s talents.

Qin Miao is a talent, and so are the designers and engineers of the team.

This is a win-win and long-term investment.

Of course, it can also gain a lot of appeal and impression points in negotiations with drivers with children. (End of this chapter)