How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 900 - 355: Ferrari’s Rise

Let's not say it turned the tide, from the disadvantage at the start of the season to directly participating in the team and driver championship contention at the end, but at least Mercedes shouldn't be thrown off by a second in just one qualifying session.

After all, last season Qin Miao and Hamilton were still giving Verstappen a hard time, but now, a few months later, they can't even see the taillights of Verstappen's car—what's going on?

On the other side, the three commentators from Five-Star Sports fell silent after seeing Mercedes' result.

After all, the three commentators from Five-Star Sports have always been, whether openly or in their own minds, standing by Qin Miao.

Not to mention, during the meeting at Shanghai, Qin Miao left Bing and the others with a very deep impression.

Naturally, they grew to like Qin Miao even more.

But after seeing the performance of Qin Miao and the Mercedes team this season, what the three commentators could do was only to console the audience watching the race in their own way during the live broadcast.

...

On the racetrack.

After parking his car below the podium at the entrance to the pit lane, Leclerc stood up from his car, then, under the eager eyes of all at the Iron Buddha Temple, installed his steering wheel, got off the car, and tactically adjusted the trajectory.

During this process, Leclerc simply raised his fist to celebrate, without appearing overly excited or agitated.

Afterwards, Leclerc calmly walked to the weighing area.

At this point, Qin Miao had also parked his car and was preparing to weigh in with his helmet on.

And for Qin Miao to weigh in, he had to pass by the platform where Leclerc was weighing.

Honestly, Qin Miao really didn't want to face Leclerc at this moment, but there's no choice—if you want to weigh in, you have to go past that side.

So Qin Miao walked over to Leclerc's side, and upon seeing Leclerc, he said lukewarmly, "Congratulations."

Seeing Qin Miao coming over, Leclerc, who was forcibly holding back his excitement and smile, couldn't hold it anymore: "Hahaha, Qin Miao! Am I awesome or what? One lap faster than you by 1 second!"

With that, Leclerc laughed and gave Qin Miao a big hug.

Qin Miao also reached out to hug Leclerc, patted Leclerc's back, and then said with a bit of jealousy, "You're just lucky, Ferrari's really exploded this year, how exactly did you develop the car?"

"Hahaha, isn't luck a part of strength too?" Seeing Qin Miao's expression, Leclerc laughed even happier.

So you're the world champion, huh? Just wait, I'm going to win a world championship this year too.

"Annoying."

After muttering a curse, Qin Miao bumped fists with Verstappen, who was coming over to weigh in, and then went to weigh himself.

Leaving behind Leclerc with a big happy grin, savoring his victory.

During the post-race interview phase, looking at the reporter in front of him, whom he had seen a few times but not that frequently, Qin Miao smiled wryly: "I remember we agreed last season that the fewer times we meet, the better."

The other shrugged helplessly: "Actually, I don't want to see you here either, but obviously Ferrari and Red Bull don't think so, looks like we'll be meeting quite a bit this season."

After exchanging a joke, the interview began.

"It's evident that both Mercedes cars' speeds weren't very ideal in today's race, not to mention the time gap with Ferrari seemed a bit too large. What exactly happened?"

Qin Miao shrugged: "Clearly, the cars ran into quite a few problems; as for what exactly happened, we're not really sure either, but the main cause is certainly the porpoising. The team is working on solving this issue, and I'm sure results will come soon."

"Does the early season setback affect your mentality? After all, you're the defending champion, but it seems this season Mercedes hasn't been able to provide you with a sufficiently competitive car. Are you feeling frustrated because of this?"

"Although this is only my second season professionally, I know that F1 teams, like historical dynasties, always experience rise and fall.

I think my mentality is pretty stable, not affected negatively by the loss of a race or two, and besides, I trust the team. We're just facing a temporary setback, solutions will definitely come."

"Okay, the last question, possibly unrelated to the racetrack.

Seeing your friend Leclerc's Ferrari regain competitiveness this year, how do you feel?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Miao laughed: "Although seeing his performance, I really feel he's had some damn luck, I can't deny that I'm quite happy for him.

I look forward to having the chance to really compete with Leclerc on the track this season."

[We're done for, Mercedes really lost it this season]

[The time gap is just too big, I can't figure out why the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari could reach a second]

[At least Qin Miao doesn't seem affected negatively by the performance issues of the team's cars]

[Transfer now, I think Red Bull is good, give Pan some intensity to handle]