How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 903 - 356: Before the Main Race_2

On the way back to the hotel, Qin Miao naturally started talking to Qimeng about having just seen Jay Chou.

"What? You met Jay Chou???" Qimeng seemed particularly surprised.

"Yeah, the local tourism department in Qatar invited celebrities from all over the world to watch this race, and Jay Chou was among them. Besides, I also saw Liu Yifei."

"You... you, why didn't you tell me earlier! If I had known, I would have come too. I've liked Jay Chou for so long! I used to not have the money to attend his concerts, and now that I can afford it, I don't have the time." Qimeng said, very dejected.

It was rare for Qin Miao to see such a regretful expression from Qimeng.

Having been with Qimeng for so long, this was actually the first time Qin Miao had seen Qimeng like this.

But this wasn't a big deal: "No problem, the Grand Prix weekend lasts for three days, and tomorrow is the main race, right? They'll still be coming."

"Is that so! Then it's okay." Qimeng breathed a sigh of relief.

Just when Qin Miao thought Qimeng would look forward to meeting Jay Chou, Qimeng suddenly asked, "Honey, have you guys been having problems this season?"

Qin Miao smiled: "It shouldn't be a big issue, Toto and the others seem quite confident. Just trust in the team's upgrades this season, I think in most one season, the team will regain its competitiveness."

"Yeah, let's not overthink it, just race normally, keep it up, I believe in you!" Qimeng raised her fist to encourage Qin Miao.

...

On Sunday, Qin Miao came to the paddock with Qimeng.

When entering the paddock, Qin Miao took the entrance that allowed for fan interaction, with fans of various teams lining both sides of the passage.

While Qin Miao was signing autographs for fans in this area, he heard people shouting Qimeng's name in Chinese more than once, as if she were the F1 driver, and he was just the bag carrier.

Of course, Qin Miao knew that the fans were just joking with him and Qimeng, so he just shook his head with a smile and continued to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans using their phones.

Qimeng didn't have any intention of overstepping by signing autographs for them, just stood behind Qin Miao and waved at them as a greeting.

After spending half an hour interacting with the fans, Qin Miao, Qimeng, and Barber left with the gifts from the fans.

Due to the rapid growth of the domestic fan base, many domestic fans came to watch the race today, and many of them were women, most of the gifts they received were from these ladies.

Of course, Qin Miao didn't accept just any gift. As a public figure, Qin Miao inevitably would unknowingly offend some fans, and among them, there will always be one or two oddballs who will try to retaliate against you even if you haven't provoked them.

So Qin Miao generally wouldn't take food from fans, only accepting gifts that fans prepared themselves, like handicrafts or drawings.

And Qin Miao would also choose gifts that he found pleasing to the eye, otherwise, there would be no place to keep them at home.

After meeting with his supporters, the three went straight to the team house.

Normally, at this time, Qimeng would stay in Qin Miao's resting area at the team house, either watching movies or TV shows, dealing with some company work that hardly needed his attention, or managing Qin Miao's social media accounts.

However, today was different. After arriving at the Mercedes team house, she greeted Qin Miao, then found the person responsible for hosting team VIP fans at Mercedes's team and asked about the celebrities present today and their locations.

Upon hearing Jay Chou's name, Qimeng happily went to look for Jay Chou to chase stars.

Qin Miao wasn't worried about Qimeng's safety, and given Qimeng's social skills, Qin Miao didn't think she would offend anyone.

So Qin Miao didn't bother her and devoted all his attention to his work.

Back at work, Qin Miao felt the same gloom shrouding over him as all the Mercedes team staff.

After finishing all the pre-race preparations and adjusting within the team, Qin Miao walked out from the team P room upon receiving notice from FIA staff.

Because up next was the driver photo session and the driver parade before the start of every Grand Prix race.

And since the Mercedes team P room was located right at the pit exit, Qin Miao and Hamilton only needed to take a few steps to reach the track.

At this moment, F1's CEO Domenicali and FIA's President Ben Sulayem were chatting leisurely at the pit exit.

Upon seeing the two, Qin Miao smiled, gave them a fist bump, greeted them and then went to the photo area to prepare, while Hamilton stayed behind to have a chat with these two influential figures in the world of F1 racing.

Watching this scene made Qin Miao somewhat envious of Hamilton's natural ease in the situation. Qin Miao couldn't achieve the same relaxed manner in front of these people, and found it tiresome after a convoluted conversation with them.

Smiling, Qin Miao stopped paying attention to Hamilton and soon saw the drivers from other teams gradually emerging from the pit lane and track entrance.

Qin Miao first noticed Leclerc and Sainz.

After all, these two drivers appeared full of energy and confidence, and from their expressions, it was clear that they were very confident about today's race.

Moreover, the Ferrari team uniforms were indeed the most eye-catching among all team uniforms in the paddock, with their bright red attire from head to toe.

Seeing them, Leclerc and Sainz naturally noticed Qin Miao as well.

Sainz gave Qin Miao a nod and smile and then went to chat with familiar drivers, while Leclerc directly approached Qin Miao.

"Qin Miao, good afternoon, how's the car adjustment?" Leclerc seized the opportunity to show off in front of Qin Miao.

"Enough of that! You're irritating, go on, go on." Qin Miao cursed, not giving Leclerc any chance to show off.

However, Qin Miao's anger didn't have any effect, and Leclerc seemed even happier.

Leclerc knew his limits and left after chatting a bit more with Qin Miao.

Soon after, Zhou Guanyu arrived. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"I just saw Liu Yifei, to be honest, she's stunning." Zhou Guanyu said upon reaching Qin Miao.

Qin Miao nodded in agreement, even though he only briefly glimpsed her in the VIP area of the team P room during yesterday's qualifying, the impression of her beauty lingered in his mind.

However, Qin Miao couldn't openly express this thought, so even though Qimeng wasn't around, Qin Miao made a survival remark: "She's good-looking, but not as good-looking as my wife."

Zhou Guanyu disdainfully looked Qin Miao up and down: "I didn't expect you to be so thick-browed..."

Qin Miao quickly cut him off: "Alright, stop, going further is impolite."

Zhou Guanyu brushed off Qin Miao's hand and naturally switched topics: "Did you find the issue with the car?"

Just then, the smile on Qin Miao's face began to fade: "No, the porpoising problem is still unresolved. According to my estimation, at least in the first half of the season, we don't have the capability to contend for the podium."

Even though there were other team drivers around them, when talking about their team's car issues, neither of them held back.

After all, they were speaking Mandarin, and with the encrypted conversation, almost no other driver in the paddock could understand what they were saying.

Zhou Guanyu felt a bit worried for his friend after hearing this: "What about the public opinion back home? Now, many fans in China watch F1 races hoping to see you win."

Qin Miao seemed quite at ease: "What else can we do? If the results aren't good, there's nothing I can do. Just stand tall and take the hits."

During their conversation, other drivers gradually took their positions.