How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 84 - 76: The Little Competition

As soon as they entered the entertainment zone, Qin Miao felt the atmosphere enveloping him.

Whether it was the F1 team merchandise on the crowd, like team uniforms, team caps, or driver placards, or the promotional posters and F1 elements seen everywhere.

All showcased the rich racing heritage of Britain and the excitement of the British Grand Prix.

After all, it was the British Grand Prix, and most of the visitors were locals, like Qin Miao and his group who traveled from abroad for the race, though they were in the minority.

Thus, compared to other teams, Mercedes had the most fans, with spectators wearing black Mercedes team uniforms everywhere.

There’s a simple reason for having so many fans: Mercedes has a five-time champion, Hamilton.

Mercedes continues its momentum this year, and barring any surprises, Hamilton is set to achieve his sixth championship with Mercedes, and it’s foreseeable that Mercedes’ dominance will persist until F1 rules undergo a major change.

For local British fans, watching Hamilton reach the podium or even win at their home venue is undeniably a dual delight for both mind and body.

However, Qin Miao adores Ferrari; he and Qimeng were both sporting Ferrari hats, genuine ones given out at every seat of the sightseeing bus earlier.

Entering the entertainment zone, the first thing that caught their eye was a McLaren F1 car displayed on a platform; Qin Miao took a closer look and realized it seemed to be this year’s McLaren F1 car: MCL34.

Given everyone could sit inside for photos, it must be just a show model; no F1 team would exhibit the car they’ll race with.

Despite this, Qin Miao still waited a short time to sit in the McLaren MCL34.

Even if it’s just a model, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to sit in an F1 car.

Truth be told, sitting in the F4 without a Halo system, Qin Miao’s view was quite spacious, though low, but without any obstruction.

However, when seated in the F1 with the Halo system, the Halo directly blocked the view ahead, requiring a slight head tilt to see the road while driving.

Fortunately, the Halo system’s hindrance is minor; after some time, one gets used to it.

Qin Miao couldn’t linger there indefinitely, so once Qimeng snapped a couple of photos, he got out of the car, lacking time to fully savor the experience or consider any discomfort from sitting in the F1 cockpit.

After bidding farewell to the McLaren MCL34, they wandered to the Pirelli tire exhibition shop, where one could briefly become an F1 team tire changer.

A machine would even time you while you changed tires.

Being VIPs, Qin Miao and Qimeng did not queue and directly tried out, alongside another fellow Chinese gentleman.

Qin Miao was in charge of removing tires, Qimeng dismantled the nuts with an air gun, while the other gentleman mounted the tires.

On TV, the tire changers appear swift and nimble; the slowest changes during races took only about three seconds, so Qin Miao assumed such a tire would be easy to change before experiencing it.

But upon handling it, Qin Miao found the tire was not light; each weighed at least 20 pounds, making it far from easy to change quickly and flawlessly like the F1 team staff.

They tried three times together, achieving their best time at around seven seconds.

Qin Miao fared well due to his intense training during this period, strengthening his core to easily lift the tire, as evidenced by Qimeng now resting a hand on Qin Miao’s chest when sleeping, showcasing his bodily fortitude.

But the other Asian gentleman didn’t have such stamina; he could barely lift and fit the tire onto the axle during the first two tries, nearly failing on the third attempt.

Nonetheless, it’s merely an entertainment activity for visitors in the paddock, with no rewards or such.

Qin Miao and Qimeng weren’t particularly concerned about their tire-changing speed.

After a brief experience, they turned their attention to other activities.

Qin Miao noticed numerous items for sale at the exhibition stand beyond the tire-changing activity.

Items like tire rubber pieces, scaled-down tire models, and pole position 1:1 replica small tires.

Qin Miao bought such a small tire.

Identical to those given to drivers obtaining pole position, decorated with F1 and Pirelli logos, a circuit map, and some textual descriptions.

Being Pirelli products, their authenticity is naturally high.

Carrying the box containing the tire from Pirelli’s store, Qin Miao and Qimeng went to watch the live stage performance.

On stage was presumably a well-known British singer; many local car fans were visibly excited upon seeing her, though Qin Miao and Qimeng didn’t recognize the star.

The singer performed exceptionally well, prompting Qin Miao to plan to search on domestic music platforms for this song after returning to the hotel.

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