"By the way, I got so caught up chatting with you that I forgot to mention the main issue."
Upon hearing Hamilton’s words, Qin Miao adjusted his sitting position, knowing that Hamilton was about to talk about the team’s instructions.
Downing the entire glass of wine, Hamilton looked ahead and said, "Those instructions were indeed given directly by Toto."
Qin Miao nodded, continuing to wait for Hamilton to elaborate.
Seeing that Qin Miao showed no signs of emotional fluctuation, Hamilton continued, "After I found him, he sincerely apologized to me. He admitted that the team directive was a work mistake, and he regretted it as soon as he asked Frankie to notify you. However, for confidentiality reasons, he did not recall Frankie via radio, and by the time he wanted to cancel those instructions, it was too late.
But he promises it won’t happen again."
"Although Toto’s response is somewhat... careless, are you sure Toto would say this kind of thing to you? As a team leader, owner, and director, it’s impossible for him to bow to people like us, right?"
Hamilton continued looking at Qin Miao and said, "I spoke with him in a private setting, so it won’t be leaked, and Toto is a person who can lower his pride in private."
Qin Miao still found it hard to accept.
"Of course, after the team meeting concludes before the Portuguese Grand Prix in early May, he will have a private chat with you." Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn N()velFire.net
After thinking about it for a while, Qin Miao couldn’t comprehend why Toto acted this way and simply gave up on figuring it out.
Even though he didn’t believe that Toto issued such a command due to foolishness, obviously Toto didn’t want to reveal the truth to him and Hamilton. Since the matter had passed, Qin Miao didn’t want to pursue it further. Although Toto’s explanation seemed perfunctory, Qin Miao was willing to take it as the truth.
"Forget it, just leave it at that."
Hamilton raised an eyebrow and nodded, "I’ll tell Toto that you’ve forgiven him. Trust me, it won’t happen a second time."
Qin Miao nodded, "I hope so."
Qin Miao also had his limits; if this were to happen again, he’d have to consider switching teams once his contract ended.
Moreover, since this incident, Qin Miao experienced a degree of dissatisfaction and resistance towards the identity of being the second driver. In the upcoming races, Qin Miao was determined not to continue being passive.
Indeed, though Toto’s matter was the main issue, it was something of an interlude. Afterwards, the two shifted the topic from the paddock to drivers, then from drivers to race cars and celebrities.
Finally, the conversation ended only when Qin Miao’s alarm went off.
Qin Miao borrowed a computer from Hamilton’s house, connected to a VPN, and logged onto the national CCTV website to watch the news broadcast on time.
Unexpectedly, Qin Miao found that today’s news broadcast included content related to him.
"Good evening, viewers.
Today is April 19, 2021, the eighth day of the third lunar month.
"Today’s main topics are:
Chinese driver Qin Miao clinched first place in the World Formula One Grand Prix, breaking multiple records and becoming the first person from our country to win this prestigious award, letting the melody of ’March of the Volunteers’ resonate on Italian soil.
Now, let’s look at the detailed content."
Watching through the entire news report, Qin Miao discovered that his story ran over 5 minutes. The first two minutes covered his brilliant achievements in F2 before entering F1, followed by one minute discussing his performance in Bahrain, and the final two minutes highlighted his victory in Imola.
At the end, the news broadcast even encouraged Qin Miao, hoping he would continue to achieve success on the track.