"Now that you’ve been working with your new teammate Qin Miao for a while, and he performed well in this qualifying session right behind you, what do you think of your new teammate? Who would you prefer as your teammate, Bottas or Qin Miao?"
Hamilton paused for a moment; the question was somewhat aggressive and provocative. However, the Old Man had seen all sorts of challenges over the years, and after less than two seconds of contemplation, he replied, "Qin Miao’s strength is undeniable; his performance lives up to the team’s expectations of him. I share the team’s opinion; he is an excellent young man. Although he still has some shortcomings in certain areas, his talent is sufficient, and he is eager to learn and delve into details. I believe Qin Miao’s future is limitless.
As for Qin Miao and Bottas... to be honest, I can’t make a choice between the two.
One has outstanding defensive skills, and the other works seamlessly with me; they are two completely different drivers. If it were possible, I’d hope the FIA reforms would allow a team to have three drivers, then I wouldn’t have to grapple with this question."
Hamilton diffused the tricky question with a joke, but the preceding words were genuinely from the heart, acknowledging Qin Miao’s capabilities as recognized by a driver of Hamilton’s caliber.
After coming off the track, Qin Miao didn’t take off his racing suit. The weather today wasn’t very warm, so wearing the suit and the moisture-wicking undergarment was just right and quite comfortable.
As Qin Miao left the track heading towards his team’s paddock, a tall guy, standing at least 1.9 meters considering his hairstyle, wearing Ferrari’s red jacket and pants, approached him.
After all, everyone works in the same place, and basically every Grand Prix sees people working in the same paddock, really it’s a case of looking up and down without avoiding each other.
As expected, the person who appeared in front of Qin Miao was Ferrari’s team leader, Binotto.
Even though this was the first meeting between Qin Miao and Binotto since he left Ferrari to join Mercedes, Qin Miao didn’t seem awkward and greeted him with a smile, "Hi, Mattia."
Previously, Qin Miao was quite familiar with Binotto, but at that time their relationship was hierarchical, so Qin Miao would basically not call him by his first name, instead opting for addressing him as Binotto or boss.
But now, as Qin Miao was no longer with Ferrari, he had the guts to joke with Binotto.
And in the face of Qin Miao’s casual manner, Binotto wasn’t bothered; instead, he looked at Qin Miao with more regret in his eyes.
Damn, why couldn’t I have been more determined to keep this kid Qin Miao at Ferrari? Doesn’t this kid’s talent and immediate combat capability far surpass Sainz’s?
But thinking about this now is meaningless, he congratulated Qin Miao with a smile for his great performance in today’s qualifying, chatted a bit more, and then separated since they both had things to do.
After Qin Miao left, Binotto continued heading to the FIA meeting room.
Just like drivers have meetings before races, team leaders also have pre-race meetings, generally presided over by the FIA President Jean Todt.
And this time, Binotto was on his way to the meeting, but shortly after parting with Qin Miao, Binotto’s phone suddenly rang.
He took a glance at his phone and saw an internal company email from Ferrari.
He opened the email while walking, and upon seeing its contents, Binotto raised his eyebrows and stopped in his tracks.
The assistant walking alongside Binotto saw him stop suddenly and curiously asked, "What happened?"
Binotto sighed, put his phone away, and replied, "Three department heads at Ferrari have resigned."
After saying that, Binotto muttered under his breath, "Why the hell didn’t this happen sooner..."
Qin Miao’s impressive performance made Ferrari realize that his departure was a huge loss for them, further prompting Ferrari to account for those who caused the loss, although it was already futile.
After finishing his work, Qin Miao didn’t do anything else. He held onto Qimeng, who was reading a book, while watching the track footage and data of himself and Hamilton.
After all, the car performances of both were virtually identical; the only difference lay in the two drivers’ styles and car setups. Thɪs chapter is updated by novęlfire.net
Qin Miao didn’t think there was a problem in these two aspects, so he wanted to figure out where exactly he lagged behind Hamilton.
Of course, with the data provided by Hamilton, it didn’t take Qin Miao long to see where his gap with Hamilton was.
For example, in the zigzag combination of turns T14 and T15, Hamilton’s consistency in both entering and exiting the turns was better than Qin Miao’s.
In turn T7, a V-shaped bend, Hamilton’s continuity during the turn and his relative speed after exiting were about 1 kilometer per hour faster than Qin Miao’s.
These advantages were small, but they add up over time.
Qin Miao also knew about Hamilton’s better consistency, but he couldn’t solve this problem in a short time, relying only on more practice and familiarity.
However, Qin Miao didn’t have extra time now.
So, Qin Miao decided to relax, thinking, forget it, and take the time before the race to unwind and brace himself for the start of the competition.