How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 623 - 269: A Failed Test

Originally, Qin Miao considered visiting friends he made during his time at Ferrari in Maranello, since he had lived there for quite a long time.

However, given his current status, going back to Maranello didn’t seem very appropriate.

So, Qin Miao didn’t linger outside for long and went straight to Milan.

On Wednesday, Qin Miao met with Zhou Guanyu.

After all, this week Zhou Guanyu would be racing in the F2 race at Monza, so when booking hotels, Qin Miao and Zhou Guanyu’s hotel were booked together.

It’s worth mentioning that the driver selections for the 20 spots in the 10 teams in the paddock next season have already been determined.

Only Alfa Romeo still has one spot that hasn’t been decided yet.

You could say the entire paddock is closely watching that last position.

This position has quite a few competitors, the most notable being Zhou Guanyu, and the other one is De Vries.

Qin Miao also called Binotto to ask if he knew who Vassel was planning to sign, or which driver Vassel had a more clear intention toward, since Binotto and Vassel have a good private relationship. Perhaps Vassel mentioned it during their private chats.

However, even though Qin Miao asked Binotto, Binotto helplessly stated he wasn’t aware.

In this regard, Qin Miao didn’t have too many alternatives.

He could only ask Zhou Guanyu’s team how their discussions with Alfa Romeo were going.

After all, Qin Miao was quite eager to see a fellow countryman among the F1 drivers.

The good news was when Qin Miao pushed open Zhou Guanyu’s hotel room door, he saw Zhou Guanyu watching a video of the Monza track on his laptop, not showing any signs of anxiety, and didn’t seem to be under too much pressure.

"So relaxed? Seems like I, an F1 driver, am under less pressure than you, someone without a secure F1 seat," Qin Miao joked upon seeing Zhou Guanyu.

"That’s typical of the Emperor not worrying while the eunuch does," Zhou Guanyu laughed.

Qin Miao pretended to take off his slippers.

"Hey, hey, no, no, fault lies with me," Zhou Guanyu decisively gave in.

After Qin Miao put his shoes back on, Zhou Guanyu then said, "I won’t hide it from you anymore. My team has already talked with the people from Alfa Romeo, and both parties show strong interest; I have many advantages over my competitor De Vries."

"Oh? Let’s hear it," Qin Miao, with shoes on, casually found a spot to sit down and opened a pack of something that looked like nuts to munch on.

"Yeah, my current score in F2 is higher than De Vries, plus I have a sponsorship of 20 million, which a cash-strapped team like Alfa Romeo cannot refuse," Zhou Guanyu closed his laptop confidently.

"So you’re confident?"

"Not ten out of ten confident, but you could say it’s a sure thing."

"As long as it’s confirmed. Enough with these non-relevant topics, did you bring the PS5? Let’s play some FIFA."

"How can you call them irrelevant? Do you know how hard I’ve worked to get into F1?" Zhou Guanyu complained.

"Ugh," Qin Miao showed some impatience, "Just tell me, do you want to play or not?"

"Let’s play!"

"Let’s go!"

...

Qin Miao spent all day Wednesday with Zhou Guanyu, not doing much, and even meals were delivered by hotel staff while they stayed in the hotel playing games all day.

However, when Thursday came, Qin Miao got busy again.

Although Thursday wasn’t a race day, many track activities were scheduled for the day.

Track days hold great appeal to fans, with most pre-race video recordings and fan meet-ups concentrated on Thursday.

Also, this Thursday, Qin Miao had to go to the "Little Black Room" with Verstappen.

Originally, Qin Miao was supposed to go to the "Little Black Room" after last Sunday’s race.

But because Qin Miao won at Verstappen’s home track and the audience shouted "So fuck you Qin Miao" as they left,

The organizers considered that if Qin Miao left late, he might be attacked by the excited Dutch crowd at the venue.

So they postponed the "Little Black Room" until the Italian Grand Prix.

Besides, during the pandemic, pre-race activities have been reduced to at least half compared to normal Grand Prix times.

Scheduling it on Thursday wouldn’t disrupt the racers’ itineraries.

Initially, as Qin Miao understood, the "Little Black Room" meant literally being locked in a windowless black-painted room.

Lectured by FIA officials or like traffic cops educating cyclists not wearing helmets.

Unexpectedly, the "Little Black Room" was merely a term; Qin Miao was taken to the office of the event stewards, and Verstappen was also brought along.

Both sat opposite the event stewards in the office.

Then the event steward played the video and asked the two drivers to state what happened during the collision on the track and their views on the collision.

Then the event steward mediated between the two drivers.

The "Little Black Room" only ended after they forgave each other.

Plus, for Qin Miao and Verstappen, this incident was already some time past, even if there was any dissatisfaction, that mood had almost dissipated after such a long time, therefore facing an opponent with whom one had a traffic mishap on track, they could now chat relatively calmly.