How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

"Great, I’ll definitely drop by later." Qin Miao’s eyes lit up.

"Remember to let us know in advance, we’ll prepare and welcome you with open arms. Of course, it’s fine if you don’t notify us, we’re always happy to have you." He Qiang laughed.

After a couple more polite exchanges, Qin Miao hung up the phone.

He chuckled, this guy sure knows how to speak in double meanings, though it’s probably only understandable to me; other foreigners just wouldn’t get it...

Poured himself a glass of water and thought for a moment, Qin Miao gave Binotto a call.

Right now Qin Miao is in the UK. Although there’s a time difference with Italy, it’s not much, just one hour, so calling Binotto at this time wouldn’t disturb him.

Soon, the call connected.

Binotto’s voice came through.

"Qin Miao? Good afternoon, how’ve you been lately?" From Binotto’s tone on the other end, Qin Miao could easily tell he was in a good mood.

Having just started his vacation, without any financial pressures or work hurriedly needing completion, Binotto, who had been busy for most of his life, felt relaxed at this moment.

"Ciao Mattia." After greeting, Qin Miao scratched his head and said, "How could an F1 driver be during off-season? Busy training all day, then participating in various marketing events, traveling the world to race."

"Hahaha, don’t try to fool me, I know you well enough! When you were at Mercedes, your participation in marketing events wasn’t even half as much as Hamilton’s. Compared to other F1 drivers, you’re much more at ease."

"Hahaha." Qin Miao laughed it off, dismissing the topic casually: "Mattia, have you been staying in Italy recently?"

"Yes, I’m at my home in Italy, is there something you need?"

"It’s like this, after next week’s Imola Grand Prix, do you have time for a meal? I’d like to discuss a few matters with you and seek some advice." Qin Miao didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated the purpose of his call to Binotto.

Binotto didn’t hesitate much since he truly wasn’t busy during this period, straightforwardly answering: "Of course, just let me know in advance."

Qin Miao smiled: "See you then."

After some brief pleasantries, Binotto also hung up the call.

After hanging up, Qin Miao searched around his house.

Since, no matter what, he was the one actively seeking Binotto’s advice, even though discussing with Binotto any thoughts on joining Lynk & Co was just incidental, Qin Miao still had to bring a gift when meeting Binotto.

In his home in Brackley, there wasn’t much to give away. Most suitable gifts had already been moved to Monaco after buying a house there.

After searching for a while, Qin Miao found two boxes of tea leaves.

Ensuring the packaging wasn’t damaged and not expired, Qin Miao dusted off the tea boxes and packed them up, preparing to present them when meeting Binotto.

Time continued to flow, arriving at May 17th, Wednesday.

It was essentially a normal race week Wednesday, with the upcoming Grand Prix in Europe, Qin Miao didn’t need to prepare much; he could fly directly to Italy on Thursday without delaying anything.

However, when Qin Miao finished his morning physical training, he habitually checked his phone.

Then Qin Miao saw the news on his phone.

Italy’s Emilia Region had been flooded, suffering severe flood damages.

Imola Circuit was completely submerged.

A week ago, Imola Circuit had already been hit by heavy rains; the race organizers then clearly stated the rains had caused no impact on the circuit.

But the rain lasted longer than anyone anticipated, by Wednesday it still showed no signs of stopping.

Italy was left in ruins due to the rain.

cities faced heavy rain attacks, Naples was hit by a tornado, over a dozen rivers breached, and 5,000 people were evacuated.

Unfortunately, a river was next to Imola Circuit, which also breached.

Floodwaters directly submerged the entire track, soaking all the materials transported in advance, including FIA’s official materials.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

This made continuing the race impossible.

Locally, the situation was severe.

Various urgent problems needed addressing.

Consequently, FIA canceled the Imola Grand Prix, refunding all 160,000 tickets.

Thus, the sixth Grand Prix skipped Imola and went to Monaco.

Seeing the news, Qin Miao clicked his tongue, two weeks’ preparation wasted.

However, Qin Miao didn’t dwell on this issue too much, just one less race.

Strictly speaking, the Imola Grand Prix wasn’t particularly suited for Mercedes’ W14.

Just let it pass.

Soon after, Qin Miao received an email from the team, mainly informing him of the Imola Grand Prix cancellation and the reasons behind it.

The team’s information was more detailed than the news Qin Miao saw.

For instance, some materials transported in advance to Imola were water-damaged, the worst being FOM, most of their transported broadcast equipment, worth several million US Dollars, was reportedly water-damaged.

Aside from this, no significant issues, Qin Miao replied to the team’s email, acknowledging receipt, then didn’t bother more.

Next, Qin Miao called Vassel.

Given the Imola Grand Prix was canceled, Ferrari had one less home race this year. Thus, Ferrari’s plan to boost fan morale by announcing Qin Miao joining next season surely needed rescheduling.

The call connected after two rings, Vassel’s voice came through: "Qin Miao, you probably called because you heard of the Imola Grand Prix cancellation. We were surprised by it as well, the report of you joining Ferrari will indeed need postponing. When arrangements are made, we’ll notify you immediately. Sorry, I have quite a few things to handle now, let’s talk later."

"Uh... alright, I called about that indeed. Since you’re busy, let’s discuss later."

After hanging up, Qin Miao scratched his head.

Looks like the Imola Grand Prix cancellation significantly impacted Ferrari, but that’s expected; strictly speaking, Imola counts as one of Ferrari’s homes.

With the home race canceled, reassuring fans and presenting reports to the board is a troublesome task.

Rumors even have it that since Ferrari’s performance this season hasn’t been great, Imola Grand Prix tickets didn’t sell well, many were discounting ticket sales.

Considering the national company nature...

After hanging up with Vassel, Qin Miao called Binotto again.

This time their conversation wasn’t lengthy, some matters indeed couldn’t be discussed over the phone.

Meeting Binotto was a part of Qin Miao’s plan, so he called to rearrange their meeting time.

Qin Miao learned from Binotto during the call that he was actually in the UK.

This was fortunate!

He could directly discuss the matter face-to-face with Binotto.