How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 596 - 254: Triumphant Wide Eyes (Part 2)

Being able to appear in this position is truly rare; this is Russell's first front-row start in his career.

Although everyone doubts that Russell's overtakes will increase significantly after the race starts tomorrow, being in this position for the qualifying session is enough to demonstrate Russell's strength.

Tomorrow's race is very likely to see rain, so there will be no DRS on the track. If Russell can maintain the same car performance he had today, with how difficult it has been for all drivers this season, the probability of him finishing with a good result is very high.

What the audience doesn't know is that after achieving this qualifying position, Russell is happier and more excited than anyone could have imagined.

Last season, there were rumors in the paddock that Russell was about to join Mercedes.

But with Qin Miao's sudden rise, those rumors were completely dispelled.

However, information from some staff in the paddock revealed that Mercedes did have intentions towards Russell.

And the desire to replace Bottas with him was true as well.

But later, since Qin Miao fell out with Ferrari, Mercedes swooped in and snatched Qin Miao, the genius driver. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The eventual outcome also proved Toto's decision to intercept Qin Miao was correct, as Mercedes gained a young genius driver who could rival the seven-time champion Hamilton in the standings, crucially even scoring more points than Hamilton.

Because of Qin Miao's addition and his strong performance within the team, Russell lost his spot at Mercedes.

Anyone in his position would certainly harbor resentment, and Russell was no exception.

Given that they worked in the same paddock, Russell often saw Qin Miao on the podium, fiercely competing with two other drivers in the standings. It would be false to say he felt no emotional ripple inside.

Honestly, Russell was extremely envious.

After all, Qin Miao's position was supposed to be his.

Now, Russell had defeated Qin Miao, even if it was only in qualifying, and before him, he had also defeated Qin Miao's teammate Hamilton, despite Qin Miao having been undefeated against Russell in the previous half-season of qualifiers.

But Russell still managed to beat two Mercedes cars.

So the cheers in Russell's team radio after the qualifying ended were louder than those for pole winner Verstappen when they found Qin Miao was behind him.

There was a sense of vindication, and at that moment, Russell was exhilarated.

...

After the qualifying, Qin Miao drove back to the scrutineering area.

He looked at a Mercedes, a Red Bull, and a Williams in the distance.

Tomorrow is going to be tough.

With a long sigh, Qin Miao got out of the car.

After getting out, Qin Miao naturally began his usual chitchat; Vettel and Ricardo, these amiable figures in the paddock, always managed to have a few words with the other drivers.

So on the way to the post-race weigh-in, Qin Miao chatted all the way with Vettel.

The topic of their conversation was relatively simple, mainly Qin Miao asking about what happened during the race.

Vettel talked about what he saw when he passed by the debris of Norris's car.

Actually, that's how it is in the paddock. In 2019, when Qin Miao saw Vettel, Vettel was still a Ferrari driver, and Qin Miao could only observe Vettel's race preparation from afar in the VIP area.

Now, Qin Miao has entered the paddock and quickly risen within a short time, already able to chat casually with Vettel.

It makes one sigh at the unpredictability of life.

After the weigh-in, Qin Miao once again arrived at the interview area. With the increasing occurrences, Qin Miao began to gradually get accustomed to being interviewed here.

During the interview, he talked about the problems encountered in qualifying and the situations that arose on the track, while also expressing his concern for Norris in front of the camera and chatting about the rumors of contract talks with Mercedes that had leaked in the paddock.

Now, Qin Miao has ample experience with post-race interviews, so his answers were watertight, pleasing the audience.

Qin Miao's qualifying session interview concluded.

In the afternoon, he attended two events, met with fans on-site, and returned to the team to hold a meeting to summarize the day's issues and the car's condition, completing his work on Saturday.

After work, he returned to the hotel with Barber.

Having some time for himself, Qin Miao watched Russell's in-car video of today's qualifying session, as well as Verstappen's.

He simulated their driving rhythm in his mind, realizing he couldn't replicate their driving style.

Mainly because everyone's driving habits are different, after being in this racing field for so long, driving styles have become a kind of instinct for drivers; it's not something that can be changed just by watching others' race footage.

The difference in qualifying positions on the Spa track and the time gaps between Qin Miao and other drivers were determined by their driving styles in rainy conditions.

Russell's driving style suited rainy conditions, and when he raced, the track was pretty much undisturbed, naturally making him faster.

After a simple understanding, Qin Miao went to rest.

Despite the weather in Belgium making Qin Miao feel uncomfortable, the race had to be run, so he had to gather his energy to fight the next day.

The next day, Qin Miao woke up and eagerly opened the curtains of his hotel room.

Unfortunately, the scene outside was not the cloudless sky he hoped for but was still overcast with clouds.

Fortunately, when Qin Miao woke up in the morning, it hadn't rained yet except for the slightly wet ground.

Qin Miao got up, washed, dressed, and went downstairs.

Barber was already waiting for Qin Miao at the hotel's entrance, handed him an umbrella with the Mercedes logo, and then the two of them headed to the paddock together.

Interestingly, as they went to the track, it hadn't rained, and even some clouds started to disperse.

But when Qin Miao's car entered the paddock through the driver's entrance surrounded by fans, the clouds gathered again, and it started to drizzle.

Seeing the raindrops on the windshield, Qin Miao sighed helplessly; he couldn't escape it after all.

Returning to the paddock, after some preparation work and a series of pre-race activities, Qin Miao changed into his gear and got into his car.

Before the race started, Qin Miao and his teammate Hamilton ran two laps on the track, mainly testing if the car had any issues after sitting for a day. If there were any problems, they could be urgently repaired before the race began.

They were also testing the track's current condition to report any issues to the FIA in time.

After Qin Miao finished two laps and returned to the pit, he wiped the rain from his helmet and got out of the car.

The track was still wet, Qin Miao had used full wet tires for the outing, but even with those, he found the laps quite challenging.

He had to adjust the steering wheel after exiting every corner.

And this time during testing, Qin Miao was following behind his teammate Hamilton.

On the long straight, even with a gap of about 6 seconds between them, the spray from Hamilton's car still affected Qin Miao's visibility.

If Qin Miao got a little closer, everything in front of him was a blur, and he could only determine his position by the brake points and curbs on either side of the track.

After getting out and taking off his gear, putting on a warm jacket, Qin Miao went over to Toto.

"How are the conditions on the track?" Toto asked, eyes still on the monitor in front of him.