How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

By the time the clock stopped in Q3, Qin Miao hadn’t refreshed his fastest lap time from Q1.

The Monaco Grand Prix qualifying results are as follows:

1: Verstappen 1:11.365

2: Alonso

3: Leclerc

4: Hamilton

5: Qin Miao

6: O’Kang

7: Sainz

8: Gasly

9: Tsunoda

10: Norris

There isn’t much to say about Pan’s performance today; after all, the Red Bull car is currently the fastest in the field, and given that none of the cars are particularly well-suited to Monaco, the Red Bull’s superior performance provides Verstappen more room to show off, making his lap speed naturally faster.

As a result, Verstappen secured pole position by leading Alonso by 0.084 seconds.

The surprise, however, was seeing Alonso in second place.

In fact, Alonso was the brightest star in today’s qualifying race, receiving even more attention in post-race interviews than Verstappen, who secured pole position.

While you often see Verstappen, it’s rare to see the Old Man, especially when he manages to beat both Ferrari and Mercedes to secure second with just an Aston Martin.

There is little to say about Leclerc; racing at home with a definite geographical advantage, not making the top three is truly surprising.

As for the Mercedes drivers,

Qin Miao didn’t leave room for much comment; his performance in today’s race was flawless, but due to the tuning of his car and its performance limitations, he could only achieve this position.

Ending qualifying in fifth place is a non-combat-related fault.

The team recognizes that Qin Miao has reached his limits and doesn’t demand anything more from him.

As for the Old Man...

To be honest, Qin Miao was quite surprised to see Hamilton ahead of him after the qualifying ended.

It was only after returning to the team and watching Hamilton’s onboard footage that Qin Miao realized the Old Man’s driving style in today’s race was extremely aggressive, even more so than his own.

Several times, he brushed the guardrails of the track.

The slow motion replay even showed sparks flying from the contact between Hamilton’s wheel arch and the guardrails.

In the final lap, Hamilton managed to swipe the 0.1 seconds that Qin Miao hadn’t touched, ultimately surpassing Qin Miao by 0.101 seconds to claim fourth place.

Perhaps knowing that Qin Miao is leaving Mercedes next season and will no longer be competing with him for Mercedes’ number one driver seat, the Old Man might have been overly excited, resulting in an exceptional performance in today’s qualifying.

Regarding Sainz behind, he didn’t even beat O’Kang...

Sainz likely knows he’s losing his Ferrari seat next season, causing some desperation as he attempts to showcase himself more, hoping to catch the eye of other teams, which resulted in a poor performance in the final flying lap of Q3.

Actually, today’s race, not just today’s qualifying, the practices on Friday and Saturday, and the first two sessions of qualifying, saw Sainz performing better than his teammate Leclerc.

Sainz did well in all tasks before Q3, but he made a mistake in the first timed segment of Q3, brushing yellow.

This rendered his final flying lap futile, since even if the subsequent segments brush purple, it wouldn’t be enough to update his position, especially since his car lacked the capacity for purple zone performance.

Before the Monaco Grand Prix began, Qin Miao already didn’t hold significant expectations for this weekend’s ranking.

Given the vehicle’s development direction this season, the likelihood of winning at Monte Carlo is very low unless a major accident occurs on track.

But take a look at the pole and top few qualifiers.

Verstappen needs no introduction—he’s a top driver and a genius, a relentless lap machine, and waiting for his mistake is practically impossible with no pressure from behind.

As for Alonso?

Some might say Brother Tou is old or slower than his prime, but one can’t deny his rich experience and steadily maturing demeanor over time.

Brother Tou is one of the drivers with the fewest mistakes on the track this season.

Thus, hoping for Alonso to make a voluntary mistake seems incredibly slim.

The only one perhaps worth watching is Leclerc.

Since entering F1, Le the Fourth has struggled with his home curse for some time.

Not until last year did he finally break this curse by finishing the race.

Leclerc often makes unforced mistakes on track.

These occur most easily during pursuits rather than defenses, where his errors are minimized.

Compared with the two drivers ahead, Leclerc’s error rate is slightly higher.

So when the qualifying ended, Qin Miao was aware that the only plausible ranking he might achieve this weekend is fourth.

Old Man?

If he makes a mistake, Qin Miao would eat it on a yacht at Monaco’s harbor.

Overall, this qualifying concludes.

During the post-race interview, as Qin Miao anticipated, the host didn’t inquire about the race track issues but asked about his Ferrari future and next season.

This matter has drawn immense attention.

When witnessing this Monaco Grand Prix weekend qualifying, you see: more than half the spectators are in Ferrari gear.

Previously, they’d react coldly to Qin Miao—not like Dutch or Austrian fans, with jeers or curses, but rather indifferently.

Except when Qin Miao won, they’d offer applause.

Now it’s different; Monaco is a minor home for Ferrari.

This is not only because Leclerc is local but also due to the close ties between Monaco and Ferrari.

Moreover, Qin Miao and Leclerc share a good relationship, and with Qin Miao joining Ferrari next season.

While returning to Monaco Palace post-qualifying, Qin Miao saw many fans in red Ferrari clothes, wearing his 66 Mercedes cap on their heads.

Many held signs reading, "Welcome Qin Miao Home."

Honestly, Qin Miao found it a bit overwhelming, jokingly worried that Mercedes might tamper with his car for fun.

Of course, such talk was jest; Mercedes is more concerned with winning the driver’s and constructor’s championships than bothering Qin Miao.

With that, the Saturday qualifying stage concluded.

For Mercedes, the fourth and fifth placements may not be ideal, but they were within expectations for today’s race.

...

On Sunday, Qin Miao woke refreshed in the morning.

After washing up, he had breakfast at Monaco Palace before heading to the paddock.

Upon arriving, he received a warm welcome from Ferrari fans present.

Every eye watching him was filled with admiration and praise.

Qin Miao lingered in the corridor designated for driver’s signatures and photos with fans for nearly an hour before entering the paddock.

Once he arrived at the team home, Frankie approached: "Qin Miao, I’ve got good news."

Qin Miao removed his casual clothes while waiting for Frankie’s continuation.

"Leclerc blocked Norris’ flying lap in qualifying yesterday, which wasn’t necessary. So, today in the main race, Leclerc will be penalized by the FIA, demoted three positions, thus your starting position moved up from fifth to fourth."