How Did I Become an F1 Driver?
Chapter 1029 - 397: Zhou Guanyu Betrayed by His Team
Ultimately, the scores and rankings for this race are as follows:
P1: Perez+26 (Fastest Lap)
P2: Verstappen+18
P3: Qin Miao+14
P4: Hamilton+12
P5: Gasly+10
P6: Vettel+8
P7: Alonso+6
P8: Ricardo+4
P9: Norris+2
P10: O'Kang+1
This is also the first time Ricardo has defeated his teammate Norris in the main race stage since joining McLaren.
Meanwhile, Perez deservedly achieved the fastest lap in this race.
He's very familiar with street racing.
Since Leclerc retired, he has consistently led and dominated the race in an astonishingly fast pace.
He even managed to widen the gap between himself and his teammate Verstappen to over a twenty-second difference.
Additionally noteworthy is Hamilton receiving the honor of the best driver voted by the spectators on-site after the race.
The specific reason is unknown to Qin Miao.
After this race, the overall driver standings are as follows:
1: Verstappen.130
2: Qin Miao.128
3: Leclerc.121
4: Perez.107
5: Sainz.70
6: Hamilton.51
7: Norris.42
8: O'Kang.39
9: Bottas.38
10: Magelsen.16
11: Alonso.15
12: Gasly.15
13: Vettel.13
14: Ricardo.12
15: Tsunoda.9
16: Zhou Guanyu.6
17: Stroll.1
18: Albon.1
After this race, because of Leclerc's retirement, Verstappen took the lead in the driver standings.
Qin Miao's position remains unchanged at second, while Leclerc, having earned no points in this race, fell from the lead to third place.
To say who had the worst luck in this race, it would have to be Zhou Guanyu.
It can even be said that, up until now, Zhou Guanyu has had no good luck in the 2022 season.
Frequent retirements, the strategy team's poor decisions, and obstacles from the gearbox during starts have plagued him.
Despite having the opportunity to score high points, Zhou Guanyu often retires from races due to various impractical reasons.
Consequently, even though Alfa Romeo's car performance is not poor this season, Zhou Guanyu has only earned 6 points so far.
He's completely incomparable to his teammate Bottas.
Qin Miao truly can't understand why, despite Zhou Guanyu having the ability to score more points, Alfa Romeo diverts more resources to Bottas.
Qin Miao believes Zhou Guanyu has already proven his capability on the racetrack multiple times.
Though Qin Miao doesn't deny Bottas' abilities, Alfa Romeo's approach is indeed a bit biased toward one and neglectful of the other.
And evidently, Qin Miao is not alone in thinking this way.
Previously, people tolerated it, using various reasons to excuse Alfa Romeo, as Zhou Guanyu, despite his competence, couldn't escape the paid driver label; his status in the team certainly couldn't compare to the highly purchased Bottas.
But after this week's race, domestic fans couldn't hold back and lashed out at Alfa Romeo openly on social media.
Here is the team standings:
1: Red Bull: 237
2: Ferrari: 191
3: Mercedes: 191
4: McLaren: 54
5: Alpine: T
6: Alfa Romeo: 44
7: Haas: 16
8: AlphaTauri: 24
9: Aston Martin: 14
10: Williams: 1
...
As for Qin Miao, after this race, he barely had any time to focus on the turmoil inside the paddock.
Following a brief meeting, Qin Miao directly boarded a plane to Canada.
After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Mercedes team needed to tackle the third successive race on the calendar.
This journey isn't short; it essentially spans half the globe.
This time Qimeng did not accompany him; Qin Miao traveled with Barber and Hamilton.
The reason for bringing Hamilton this time is mainly because Hamilton's plane was sent for inspection, and Hamilton has several activities to attend in Canada, but the direct first-class flight from Azerbaijan to Canada was sold out.
Only the economy class remains.
It's not that Hamilton is too precious to take the economy class, but with his status, boarding an economy class flight to the next Grand Prix after the race almost ensures he'll be recognized, especially since he is a Black man.
Thus, to avoid causing chaos on the plane and to save time, knowing Qin Miao was leaving right after the race, Hamilton called Qin Miao.
Qin Miao naturally agreed readily.
Although Hamilton's speed this season isn't faster than his own, his years of racing experience are invaluable, and if any issues arise, he could consult Hamilton, learning something beneficial from him.
Moreover, their relationship has somewhat eased recently, and seeking advice from Hamilton on unfamiliar aspects now won't seem awkward.
However, what made Qin Miao a bit helpless is Hamilton went straight to the plane's bedroom to sleep after boarding.
Only Angela was organizing Hamilton's belongings.
Qin Miao curiously glanced at Angela; though their interactions weren't much, they've worked together for nearly a year, developing mutual familiarity.
Seeing Qin Miao's gaze, Angela shrugged helplessly and said, "During the race, you might have noticed Lewis's poor condition after the race ended. He just saw a doctor who said Hamilton's soft tissue in his back was injured due to the porpoising, though it's not serious, he needs to rest during this period."