After racing another lap around the track, Qin Miao brought his car to the entrance of the pit lane, ready for the much-anticipated podium ceremony.
Parking the car beneath the sign that represented the championship, Qin Miao calmly disembarked.
Today’s race winner was Qin Miao, Nikita Mazepin ca in second, and Qin Miao’s teammate, Mick, took third.
To be honest, Qin Miao truly had no idea how these people ended up behind him, or where Zhou Guanyu had gone.
This couldn’t really be blad on Qin Miao; after the race started, he hadn’t seen any cars behind him and naturally couldn’t afford to be distracted by the situation of the cars behind.
And in order not to disturb Qin Miao who was driving, the team staff wouldn’t actively contact him about the race situation unless there was a red flag or yellow flag.
After getting out of the car, Qin Miao gave a thumbs-up to the photographer who was filming his face, considering it a celebration, and then prepared to turn around and celebrate with his team’s engineers.
When he turned towards the spot where the Prema team was gathered, Qin Miao not only saw his team’s leader, Roxin, but also noticed a bunch of people wearing Ferrari uniforms.
With a closer look, among them were Lawson, the head of Ferrari Driver Academy, Binotto, Ferrari’s team principal, and kis, Ferrari’s race director.
Qin Miao was stunned for a mont, thinking that although he had won many championships before, these people had never been so enthusiastic before.
However, Qin Miao didn’t think much of it. With the top figures of Ferrari coming over to celebrate him, Qin Miao couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
Qin Miao exchanged fist bumps with them one by one.
Roxin and the others might have spent too much ti with Qin Miao, and seeing Qin Miao’s nonchalant attitude towards the championship, they caught his bad habit and didn’t seem overly excited after Qin Miao’s victory, rely clapping with smiles by the fence.
Instead, the two Ferrari executives were looking at Qin Miao with eyes full of wonder.
When Qin Miao approached, they engaged in so casual conversation with him.
"Well done, kid! We definitely haven’t misjudged you," said kis. "Keep it up; I’m looking forward to working with you one day."
"Thank you, Mr. kis, I will do my best," Qin Miao replied in a fairly standard manner.
Next, it was Bi’s turn. Qin Miao knew him well and considered him an old acquaintance.
In this joyful mont, instead of saying words of encouragent, Bi jokingly asked, "I noticed you still have enough tires in reserve. Are you planning to start the sprint race on soft tires again tomorrow? Can’t you leave so opportunities for the other drivers?"
Knowing the other was joking, Qin Miao shrugged his shoulders and replied jokingly, "I’ll do my best, but frankly, my soft tires probably won’t last the entire race under normal circumstances. If there’s no safety car, there will be plenty of chances to overtake in the latter part of the sprint race."
"So, by your account, your victory in the sprint race depends on the FIA?" kis also joined in the jest.
The three of them chatted briefly after that, and Bi concluded by saying, "I won’t disturb you any longer, go enjoy your championship," then stepped aside.
Qin Miao was just about to head for the weigh-in when he saw his teammate Mick Schumacher getting out of his car.
He walked over and lightly bumped fists with Qin Miao, with neither of them saying a word.
Afterward, Qin Miao watched Mick go off to celebrate with his car crew for a while before looking over at Binotto and the others.
Seeing this sight, Qin Miao was taken aback, then slowly realized.
I was wondering why neither Bi nor the others were so attentive when I used to win. It turns out they ca this ti not because I won, but because Mick Schumacher made it to the podium.
The slight smile on Qin Miao’s face quickly faded into calmness.
Indeed, even though I’m a mber of the Ferrari Driver Academy with trendous talent, it can’t compete with having the right connections.
Mick Schumacher is a dyed-in-the-wool second-generation driver, and his father is the illustrious racing legend.
It’s understandable that Ferrari would be more attentive to him...
Retracting his gaze, Qin Miao faced the reporters for an interview.
The reporters asked how it felt for Qin Miao to win another championship and whether he would choose soft tires again for the sprint race to go for the win.
Qin Miao didn’t recite the usual interview responses but rather spoke candidly about his genuine feelings and thoughts.
"I feel alright, I’m starting to get used to this sensation," he said.
"We’re likely going to use a one-stop strategy, but the Hengelo circuit isn’t very tire-friendly, so I might try to run the entire race on one set of hard tires."
Because the Hengelo circuit has many slow corners that cause rapid tire degradation, even Qin Miao couldn’t guarantee that one set of soft tires would last the entire race. After consulting with the team and considering Qin Miao’s opinions, they finally decided to go with one set of hard tires for the race.
Under normal circumstances, a set of hard tires wouldn’t last the whole race, and the grip would significantly decrease in the latter stages, requiring at least one pit stop for tire change even in a sprint race. However, Qin Miao’s tire managent skills were well acknowledged.
After the interview, it was ti for the podium ceremony. Qin Miao initially thought this ceremony would be like the last ti with an advertising board hung at the safety car’s P room door and four blocks placed underneath it to act as a podium.
Thankfully, this race returned to normal, and after the weigh-in, Qin Miao went to the preparation room for the podium.
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