How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 510 - 225: Brief Peace (6K, Debt Cleared 2/2)

"So, Qin Miao, how come you couldn’t beat Red Bull in the two races last week?"

This isn’t strictly business, just casual chit-chat.

So talking about it while fishing doesn’t seem odd.

Qin Miao squinted at the distant float and replied, "I don’t know."

Zhou Guanyu was stunned.

As if he had predicted Zhou Guanyu’s reaction, Qin Miao added, "I’m not joking with you, I really don’t know.

The first time we raced at the Red Bull Ring, the car wasn’t well-tuned, the tire temperature was too high during the race, tire wear was significant, and we couldn’t find the right settings for the suspension’s configuration and hardness.

That was tolerable, but the most absurd thing was during the second race at the Red Bull Ring, both Hamilton and I felt that after six practice sessions, we found a setup that suited our car for this track best." Qin Miao clapped his hands in frustration and said, "Yet on race day, we still couldn’t beat Red Bull and Verstappen. It was like Verstappen had home-field advantage, impossible to catch, insanely fast."

Zhou Guanyu curiously asked, "Didn’t the team find any issues?"

Qin Miao shook his head, "The team was baffled too, and they couldn’t identify the cause in such a short time. After the race, they had to pack and head back to the UK to prepare for the next race, so maybe it’ll take some time to find out why we were so slow at the Red Bull Ring.

Honestly, I didn’t even feel we were slow; not winning was just because Verstappen was absurdly fast."

"So it became a mystery?" Zhou Guanyu asked curiously.

Qin Miao nodded somewhat helplessly, "Seems like it. I just hope the new upgrade package rolling out in the next few days can help us bounce back at the British Grand Prix. Red Bull’s performance in the last three races has been too dazzling.

I feel some staff within the team with weaker mentalities have had their confidence shaken."

"Forget it, that’s the past. Let’s not talk about it. By the way, does the British Grand Prix have an F2 undercard race?"

Zhou Guanyu nodded, "Yes, there’s an F3 and an F2 undercard race. The F2 should be four hours before the F1 main race."

Qin Miao nodded, "Then you better go for it, try to bring home the championship."

But Zhou Guanyu shook his head helplessly, "I’d love to, but I’m not you. I don’t have your terrifying talent, winning both sprint and main races, and monopolizing the championship trophies.

Damn, thinking back to what you did in F2 back in the day is still mind-boggling. Besides you, I seemed to be the only one who reached the top podium that season, right?"

Qin Miao thought for a moment, "Seems like it was just the two of us on the top podium."

Zhou Guanyu reminisced and couldn’t help shaking his head in awe, "It’s still surreal thinking back.

When you moved to F1, I felt like everyone in the 2021 F2 season breathed a sigh of relief and became more daring and willing to fight than before.

Nonetheless, I’m confident I can bring back the unit race and main race championship at the British Grand Prix."

As he said this, Zhou Guanyu’s face naturally brimmed with confidence.

"Awesome." Qin Miao encouraged his friend.

"It’s just a pity that I’m missing a couple of trophies on my trophy wall." Qin Miao suddenly felt nostalgic, but quickly switched gears, "Why don’t you give me those two trophies? I could line them up to make a complete wall.

When guests come over and see my collection room, they’ll go, ’Whoa! A wall full of F2 trophies, how grand.’

Zhou Guanyu was just about to agree. Those trophies might hold some meaning for him, but if Qin Miao wanted them, he wouldn’t mind letting Qin Miao keep them, especially since every time Zhou visited Qin Miao’s trophy room, he noticed some gaps where F2 trophies should be.

Zhou Guanyu, a bit of a perfectionist, found those gaps rather unsettling.

But after thinking it over, Zhou didn’t immediately respond to Qin Miao’s suggestion but instead asked, "Speaking of trophies, I’ve been curious for a while. Didn’t you buy your F2 championship car? Where is it?"

Qin Miao nonchalantly replied, "Still with the Prema team, didn’t bring it back. Mainly, I had some extra cash at the time, and since it was my first F2 car, it had some sentimental value, so I bought it. Winning the championship made it even more meaningful, but I didn’t expect to have no place for it in the UK."

Hearing Qin Miao’s complaint, Zhou Guanyu smiled and leaned towards Qin Miao, saying, "Old Qin, aren’t we buddies?"

Qin Miao impatiently waved his hand, "Spit it out."

Zhou Guanyu chuckled, "Look, your car just sitting in Italy isn’t ideal. How about shipping it back home? I’ll handle all the paperwork for you, and then it can be exhibited at major circuits in the country for free. It’ll help expand racing culture’s influence domestically, making a contribution to the nation.

I can also give you my trophies, consider it a trust exchange, so we won’t worry about damaging each other’s stuff.

All you need to do is nod, and I’ll handle everything else, including transportation and storage. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility."

Qin Miao raised an eyebrow at Zhou Guanyu, knowing he was scheming something, but Qin Miao wasn’t sure what Zhou intended to do with his car.

However, like Zhou said, leaving it with Prema was just giving Roxin a chance to show off, and since his good buddy wanted it, Qin Miao didn’t mind retrieving it from Roxin.