How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 1167 - 441: An Unexpected Discovery After the Race

After joking a bit on the track with his friends, Qin Miao went to greet Verstappen.Of course, Qin Miao did not forget today’s other main character: De Vries.

After the race when going to weigh in, Qin Miao stopped De Vries as he passed by.

After all, De Vries is Mercedes’ test driver and reserve driver, and the two have met at Mercedes, and have even spent a long time working together on the team’s simulator.

So it didn’t feel awkward at this moment.

Despite the fatigue on his face, Qin Miao could easily see the excitement hidden beneath De Vries’ weary expression.

After congratulating him, Qin Miao went for the post-race interview.

As expected, the host mainly asked Qin Miao why he didn’t pit during the safety car period.

After all, everyone else pitted, but you didn’t.

The key is, with this pit strategy that differed from everyone else, you gained an advantage, climbing two positions.

Whether it be the spectators, commentators, or strategy groups from other teams, they must be curious about this.

Qin Miao naturally recounted his thoughts in the car truthfully.

On one side, Toto and the Mercedes staff listened to Qin Miao with faces full of pride and shared glory.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s expression was quite complex upon hearing this.

Qin Miao was originally supposed to be a Ferrari driver! Ferrari should have had a top genius to rival Red Bull’s Verstappen and Mercedes’ Hamilton!

Seeing this, many people silently looked at Binotto, communicating with staff inside the team garage.

Why couldn’t you be more decisive back then and keep Qin Miao?

Of course, at this point, no matter how regretful Ferrari is, it’s useless.

At least, on Ferrari’s home turf, Leclerc stood on the podium.

This can be considered as an account to the Iron Buddha Temple supporters who came to support Ferrari.

The Monza track has a characteristic: after the race ends, all the Italian spectators come onto the circuit and gather below the podium. When the final award ceremony begins, and the drivers step onto the podium, looking down they see the entire Monza starting straight filled with Ferrari red-clad people.

Huge Ferrari flags wave among the crowd, with red smoke rising with the wind.

This might be the charm of Ferrari’s home.

In the post-race lounge, Qin Miao drank water while looking at Verstappen: "What position did you start from today?"

Verstappen was also drinking and had no time to answer Qin Miao’s question. Instead, Leclerc answered for him: "If I remember correctly, he started from sixth."

Qin Miao thought about it, starting sixth and finishing first, crucially with a 16-second gap between Verstappen and second-placed Leclerc before the safety car came out, terrifying to think about.

"This season, Red Bull’s car seems to be getting faster," Qin Miao said.

Leclerc next to him nodded in agreement.

Earlier in the season, Red Bull and Ferrari could fight back and forth, while Mercedes just watched from behind.

But after the summer break, things changed dramatically, with Red Bull getting faster and Mercedes and Ferrari brawling.

However, as the two lamented, drinking water, Verstappen nodded in agreement: "I feel the same way."

Qin Miao: ...

Leclerc: ...

The two scrutinized Verstappen for a while, then shook their heads helplessly, shifting their focus more to the broadcast footage next to them.

They took a look at the exciting moments of this race, rested for a while, and soon it was time for the post-race podium ceremony.

There isn’t much to elaborate on the post-race award ceremony. Regarding the Dutch anthem, everyone must be familiar by now.

After the anthem, receiving the Italian Grand Prix trophy, Qin Miao got special attention from Leclerc.

After all, Leclerc was supposed to take second place, but Qin Miao took it instead. Although he didn’t physically confront Qin Miao, with a bit of resentment, Leclerc naturally hoped Qin Miao to be a bit more embarrassed when possible.

However, Qin Miao didn’t care about this, instead sprinkling more champagne onto the fans below the podium.

Qin Miao even noticed a few fans with open mouths ready to catch some, so he sprayed quite a bit into their mouths.

Then Qin Miao saw a very friendly fan drink a few sips and give him a thumbs up.

Probably meant that it tasted good.

Scenes like this are probably only seen at Monza during the whole F1 season.

After the celebrations ended, the director showed the final rankings and score of the race:

P1: Verstappen +25

P2: Qin Miao +19 (fastest lap)

P3: Leclerc +14

P4: Hamilton +12

P5: Sainz +10

P6: Perez +8

P7: Norris +6

P8: Gasly +4

P9: Zhou Guanyu +2

P10: De Vries +1

Just like Qin Miao calculated before the race, after pitting for brand new soft tires at the second stop, he ran the fastest lap of the race, earning an extra point.