Chapter 262: Chapter 143: Upgrade
As he didn’t have his phone with him and had nothing else to do, Qin Miao noticed that there was an empty spot on the tire trailer where a set of tires had been used up, so he just sat down on the empty space.
At this moment, the director had nothing to shoot due to repairs on the track, so they were filming other teams’ cars and drivers.
Almost all the drivers were sitting obediently in their cars, waiting for the race to resume.
But when the camera turned to Qin Miao, the audience saw him acting like a retired elder, sitting for a while, standing for a while, walking around the pit lane with his hands behind his back.
Since the Prema team’s parking spot was arranged right at the entrance of Force India’s garage, Qin Miao curiously approached the entrance and studied the pink and white front wings for a while.
He looked exactly like a retired elder with nothing to do at home.
Ten minutes later, some cars had already started lining up at the pit exit.
Only then did Qin Miao, with his hands behind his back, leisurely return to his car and get back in.
Soon, the race restarted, and Qin Miao took off two minutes later, following his usual habit.
The subsequent qualifying laps weren’t much to talk about. Qin Miao, having found a suitable setup for his car, clocked a time of 1:38.556 on his first flying lap, nearly breaking Zhou Guanyu’s fastest lap of 1:38.498 at Silverstone F2 last year.
However, this performance gave Qin Miao enough confidence.
So everyone saw that after completing his first flying lap, with 21 minutes remaining until the end of the session, Qin Miao immediately brought his car back to the pits.
Just when everyone thought there might be a problem with his car requiring adjustments, Qin Miao drove back to the pit lane, turned off the engine, removed his headrest, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car.
Qin Miao’s series of moves left countless commentators dumbfounded.
The three commentators at Five-Star Sports were also like this: "Is Qin Miao done already?"
What followed was deep admiration because Qin Miao’s first lap was incredibly fast, and it was very likely he wouldn’t need to run any more laps.
But not everyone has the confidence, like Qin Miao, to be certain of securing pole position after just one lap.
Meanwhile, the commentators also admired Qin Miao’s ability to adjust his mindset.
Those who follow paddock news in China know the saying, "There’s no rumor in the paddock."
So they’ve long speculated that Qin Miao signed a contract with Ferrari.
But the recent news about Ferrari signing Sainz had already been officially released by both Ferrari and McLaren.
So many people in China were worried that after receiving this news, Qin Miao might have issues with his mindset.
But now, seeing him seemingly unaffected, they felt that Qin Miao appeared even more brazen than before.
Of course, it was also possible that Qin Miao hadn’t signed any driver contract with Ferrari at all.
...
After taking off his helmet, Qin Miao went to the FIA official weigh-in area at the pit entrance to weigh himself.
Actually, the FIA staff wanted to bring Qin Miao’s car over to weigh it, but it seemed like Qin Miao’s car had been turned off completely, and it would be too much trouble to move it over, so they abandoned the idea.
After all, Qin Miao’s strength was obvious to everyone, and few could question his fastest lap time.
After completing his tasks, Qin Miao didn’t stay long in the paddock. He gathered his belongings and returned to the F2 team’s temporary room, changed into his regular clothes, and started gaming on his laptop using the meeting room’s Wi-Fi, while waiting for the post-race team meeting to begin.
Qin Miao’s actions can’t be called confidence; it’s just that he has a clear understanding of his own abilities.
The final results proved Qin Miao’s judgment right.
His time was a full half-second faster than the second-placed Ilott’s, completely dominating like playing against kids.
As for the rankings of other drivers, there’s not much to elaborate on. During the race, these cars were unlikely to even appear in Qin Miao’s rearview mirror.
Right now, Qin Miao feels like he’s playing "F1 2020" with the AI set to easy difficulty in F2.
Qualifying ended, and Qin Miao happily earned two points, bringing his total to 152 points, which is 2.05 times that of Zhou Guanyu.
Seeing Qin Miao secure pole position with just one lap left most impressed and marveled, except for Binotto, who looked full of regret.
In Binotto’s view, Qin Miao’s talent was no less than Leclerc’s. If Qin Miao could join Ferrari next year, there might be a chance for Ferrari to touch the F1 Constructors’ Championship title.
But now? Although Sainz hasn’t officially signed a contract yet, the intention contract is settled, and the news has already been released.
Sainz joining Ferrari next season is already a given fact.
While Binotto did not deny Sainz’s abilities, at Ferrari, he would at most just be a competent second driver, unable to shake Leclerc’s position.