How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 723 - 300: There Is No Hatred Without Reason
Then, while marveling at Qin Miao's tire conservation ability, he went to weigh in.
This naturally included Gasly, who was in fifth place.
Looking at Qin Miao's tires, which were almost worn down to the Kevlar fibers, Gasly could only sigh in amazement.
This guy is really something else. Perez's title of tire conservation master might pale in comparison to Qin Miao.
What Qin Miao didn't know was that after this race, domestic fans gave him the nickname "Pirelli's Favorite Son".
This name highlights his extraordinary performance in tire conservation.
It's worth mentioning that after the race, Pirelli transported Qin Miao's set of tires, which were supposed to be destroyed after the race, back to their headquarter in Milan, Italy.
They started studying and analyzing Qin Miao's tires that very evening.
Pirelli's researchers were quite perplexed to find that Qin Miao's tires were not fundamentally different from the tire formulas and internal rubber characteristics of other drivers.
In other words, Qin Miao was using a set of ordinary C2 hard tires, no different from those of other drivers.
Of course, after the inspection, despite their confusion, Pirelli still kept Qin Miao's set of tires for posterity. After all, it is quite memorable that Qin Miao managed to complete an entire race with a single set of hard tires.
But these are stories for another day, let's not dwell on them for now.
As Verstappen and others completed the award ceremony, listening to the Dutch national anthem at his home ground in Mexico, FOM announced the driver standings and points for this race.
1: Verstappen +26 (Fastest lap)
2: Hamilton +18
3: Perez +15
4: Qin Miao +12
5: Gasly +10
6: Leclerc +8
7: Sainz +6
8: Vettel +4
9: Kimi +2
10: Alonso +1
11: Norris
12: Giovinazzi
13: Ricardo
14: O'Kang
15: Stroll
16: Russell
17: Latifi
18: Mazepin
19: Mick (Retirement)
20: Yuki Tsunoda (Retirement)
It's worth noting that although the broadcast didn't show it, on the track, the team asked Leclerc to give his position to the faster Sainz, allowing Sainz to try and chase down Gasly in front of him.
However, the final result was obvious, he simply didn't catch up.
After all, when there were only 15 laps left, Sainz was still 12 seconds behind Gasly.
Ferrari isn't Mercedes, and compared to Red Bull and the formidable Gasly at the Rodriguez Brothers Circuit, Sainz wasn't overwhelmingly fast.
So, the result was that the position swap between Sainz and Leclerc didn't yield any effect.
However, later in the race, when Sainz realized he couldn't catch Gasly, he did give his position back to Leclerc.
It somewhat reinforced the harmonious atmosphere within Ferrari.
So after the race ended, Leclerc's ranking was still ahead of Sainz.
After this race, the driver's overall standings are as follows:
1: Qin Miao 315
2: Verstappen 307 (+22→+8)
3: Hamilton 295 (+26→+20)
4: Perez 151
5: Leclerc 143
6: Norris 128
7: Sainz 107
8: Ricardo 91
9: Gasly 72
10: Alonso 51
11: Vettel 49
12: O'Kang 36
13: Stroll 20
14: Tsunoda 14
15: Russell 10
16: Kimi 7
17: Latifi 3
The gap between Verstappen and Qin Miao has narrowed from 22 points to just 8, putting pressure on both Qin Miao and Hamilton.
If Qin Miao doesn't finish ahead of Verstappen in the next race, it might be hard for him to maintain his lead in the standings.
After this race, the constructors' standings are as follows:
1: Mercedes: 610
2: Red Bull: 458
3: Ferrari: 250
4: McLaren: 219
5: Alpine: 87
6: Red Bull: 86
7: Aston Martin: 69 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
8: Williams: 13
9: Alfa Romeo: 7
10: Haas: 0
The positions on the constructors' standings didn't change after this race.
However, thanks to Gasly, Red Bull scored a lot in this race, reducing the point gap between them and Alpine to just 1 point.
The competition between the two teams has officially become intense.
Though the team rankings in the midfield don't decide tens of millions of dollars like it does for teams like Mercedes.
The prize difference between finishing 5th and 6th is still a significant 7 million US dollars.
Neither team wants to give up this revenue, which could make their year-end financial reports look better.
Unlike these increasingly tense teams, Haas stands out with its peaceful existence.
Yet this peaceful existence is tinged with a slight sadness.
According to unnamed professionals, Mick Schumacher's retirement cost Haas over 600,000 US dollars in car repairs.
Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Russian Crown Prince and the German Crown Prince.
Halfway through the season, the two have already cost the Haas team over 5 million US dollars in car damage expenses.
When this data was placed on the English teacher Steiner's desk, it really felt like someone shocked him with electricity.
Originally intended for next season's car development, Haas had to dip into next season's budget for car repairs this season.
The activities of these two Crown Princes have severely disrupted Steiner's plans, cutting the budget for the car development for next season time and again.
If they keep crashing, Haas team might run out of money…
Fortunately, within the team, there's the financial backer Mazepin who can provide some funds.
And Steiner has his unique insights on saving money, which have somewhat prevented Haas from going bankrupt.
After all, the choice of the Haas boss to make Steiner the team leader is partly due to Steiner's knack for saving money compared to other team leaders.
Compared to Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren who sell cars, Haas, being a machine tool manufacturer, cannot afford to spend that much.
But no surprises, Mick has already secured the top spot on the breakdown chart for this season.
...
After the race, Qin Miao completed the weigh-in and was about to head to the post-race interview when he suddenly noticed Russell and his assistant heading towards the FIA's little black room.
Noticing Qin Miao's gaze, Barber curiously asked, "What's up?"
"Russell, where is he going?"
Barber glanced over: "Oh, Russell—didn't he push you off the track once? He's been deemed to have done it intentionally, so he's been called to the little black room by the race stewards. He's likely to lose some Super License points as well."
Only then did Qin Miao realize, recalling that scene on the track earlier.
However, Qin Miao soon thought somewhat confusedly, "Wasn't it just a matter of taking your Mercedes team driver's position? Is it necessary to hold a grudge all season?"
Of course, Qin Miao's perspective came from a place of luxury.
He skyrocketed up, joining Mercedes not through his or his agent's contact with Mercedes and then going through the normal driver contract negotiations.
Rather, it was Mercedes's boss Toto who personally invited Qin Miao.
Having been invited, Qin Miao hadn't experienced it, so naturally, he didn't know how difficult it was to join a top team and become an official driver.
Not understanding Russell was normal.
It's just sometimes when you have talent and an enviable untapped market behind you, you do have an edge.
Post-race interview session.
Naturally, Qin Miao, somewhat frustrated, expressed that the race results didn't meet expectations, even though he once again delivered an overtaking spectacle for the fans. During the interview, Qin Miao mentioned that instead of overtaking one driver after another from the back, he longed for Verstappen's driving style.
Starting at the front and then completing the entire race unhindered.
After answering a few more questions, the interview session ended.
However, after Qin Miao finished his interview, he wasn't able to return to the team immediately as he was stopped by other drivers who hadn't rushed off after their own interviews.
PS. Sorry, not in good form today, only 4K.
Really sorry, bowing to you dear readers.
