How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

The only one daring enough to kick the world champion’s butt at this time, probably is him.

Qin Miao patted his own butt, not minding at all.

But the FIA has regulations, celebrating should not occur behind the pit lane, because celebrations here can cause congestion and potentially lead to stampede accidents.

After all, the passage behind is not only for team staff but also other team VIPs; although called VIPs, fundamentally, these people are still tourists. With curiosity, if you celebrate here, they will surely gather around. The more people gather, the harder it is to predict any accidents.

Consequently, the Mercedes team’s blatant celebration resulted in a fine of 50,000 euros.

That 50,000 euros could drain the savings of a regular household with minimal savings, but for a wealthy team like Mercedes, it’s a drop in the ocean. Afterwards, Toto didn’t even penalize Reyes, the originator of this incident.

Anyway, the fine doesn’t count towards the budget cap, so any fine is fine.

After the celebration, Qin Miao and the team gathered at the entrance of the team’s pit building for a group photo.

Although the second and third trophies placed in the middle caused a bit of disharmony amidst the joyous smiles on everyone’s faces, no one actually felt anything wrong with this photo. The team staff were also smiling happily, raising their champagne high in celebration.

A few of the more free-spirited ones even finished the champagne in their cups during the photo.

With the photographer calling out "three-two-one, cheese."

The group photo concluded, but after the photo, rather than celebrating with the team, Qin Miao and Hamilton ran outside the crowd.

While seated in the car, their speed was unbeatable.

But now, their running speed couldn’t outpace the champagne sprayed by colleagues.

These bastards were holding large champagne bottles during the photo, already shaking them before it ended.

Now with the photo concluded, they immediately tilted the champagne at Qin Miao and Hamilton.

As for Toto standing in the middle...

His white shirt was soaked completely by the champagne, turning semi-transparent.

But Toto didn’t run, merely using his hands to fend off the champagne attack.

After the playfulness, Qin Miao and Hamilton returned to the team’s lounge to soak in an ice bucket for a while.

Even though today’s temperature wasn’t too high, the drivers had just completed an intense race on the track; physical exhaustion and lactic acid buildup were inevitable.

They also took it as a chance to shower off, having been sprayed with champagne during the celebration.

With that, Qin Miao and Hamilton’s work was finished.

The next race in Abu Dhabi follows closely on the heels of today’s Brazilian Grand Prix, meaning there’s another F1 race next week, after which the 2022 season ends.

The distance between Brazil and Abu Dhabi is vast, spanning the Atlantic and requiring a traverse across the African continent.

Although material for the team was prepared in Abu Dhabi early on, staff and drivers need to get there within three days.

The travel logistics are indeed grueling.

This race weekend, the Mercedes team didn’t bring any upgrades to the car in Abu Dhabi, only switching the high-drag rear wing to a medium-downforce wing, and this wing was an old one used in other races before — highlighting just how frugal they are.

In contrast, Red Bull, despite this being the last race of the season when teams usually don’t adjust their cars, upgraded their rear suspension.

Honestly, upon getting this news, the Mercedes team’s engineers and strategy group felt a chill down their spines.

Horner, Marco, what you’re doing is kind of sneaky.

Aren’t you giving up on next season’s car performance?

Are you planning to exceed the budget cap again next season?

Hurry and retract this upgrade, damn it!

Even because Red Bull announced this news early, the same day the Brazilian Grand Prix ended, they announced a new rear suspension for next week.

So during this break, the Mercedes strategy group didn’t sleep well.

After all, Red Bull’s upgrade directly concerned the championship standings for Mercedes.

Qin Miao, however, didn’t really care about this.

Qin Miao already secured the drivers’ world champion title and has nothing left to chase for points this season; regardless of the result in the final race, he remains steadfast.

Nevertheless, with Toto and Mercedes’ kindness towards him, Qin Miao is set to give his all in next week’s race, possibly even fighting harder than usual.

Since there’s no burden...

He could play bumper cars on the track without any stress...

Despite this week’s tight schedule, after the race, Qin Miao spent a day in Brazil with his wife.