How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 957 376: The Crux of the Mercedes Team

So, he carried on doing what he would usually do on a race weekend with a calm demeanor.While having breakfast with the team, Hamilton came over.

After exchanging greetings, when Qin Miao was about to continue eating, Hamilton sat down right in front of him.

Today, as usual, Hamilton was dressed flamboyantly. Although the colors weren't particularly bright, his denim outfit with bell-bottoms was still eye-catching.

Although Qin Miao wasn't sure about the price of Hamilton's outfit, having mingled in overseas circles for so long, Qin Miao knew that Hamilton's outfit wouldn't be cheap.

But that's beside the point. After sitting down, Hamilton said directly to Qin Miao, "The results of yesterday's meeting are out."

Qin Miao nodded. He hadn't actually inquired about this issue, and hearing Hamilton bring it up made him curious about the meeting results.

Hamilton said, "The team hasn't taken any immediate action and is conducting an internal evaluation."

At this moment, the team's chef also brought Hamilton's breakfast to him.

Saying thanks and waiting for the person to walk away, Hamilton continued, "The team doesn't want to waste resources on developing the current W13. Some people still have some hope for this car, thinking we might accidentally end up on the right path."

"So, what does this mean?"

"The team wants to evaluate the exploitable potential of the current W13. If there is still potential for upgrades, the team would like to continue down this path.

At worst, they would modify some of the components where design ideas for the car went wrong.

After all, you know, if we change the development direction for the car at this point..."

Qin Miao nodded. He had discussed this with Hamilton last night.

"And what is your take on this?" Qin Miao asked casually after taking a bite of beef.

Hamilton started eating breakfast as well: "I don't know."

However, after speaking, Hamilton looked up and saw Qin Miao's incredulous expression.

"Alright, I do hope the team starts from scratch because driving this car is really painful." Hamilton shrugged helplessly.

Qin Miao nodded in agreement, saying, "Actually, I feel the same way. Although the car is fast currently, compared to last season's car, it's much more troublesome to drive."

"Are you talking about the brake weight settings at certain turns?"

"Yes, if you have some time later, you can take a look at the preset knobs on my steering wheel; the carbon fiber on it is smoother than other places." Qin Miao joked.

It's known that carbon fiber is very hard and highly resistant to wear. That Qin Miao's use makes a knob smoother than other spots can only mean he uses this button very frequently.

Even more frequently than other parts.

Generally speaking, the only carbon fiber parts on the car where this could happen would be the paddle shifters.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Miao left first and went back to the team's home. Toto was holding a remote video meeting in his office.

Therefore, the morning briefing was no longer conducted by the technical directors or the team's leadership; it was led by Hamilton's race engineer, Pete Bonington.

Of course, among many fans, he is known by a more familiar name: Bono.

At the same time, Qin Miao's race engineer, Frankie, provided supplementary information for the meeting.

Despite the absence of the main person in charge and the senior leadership, the post-race meeting proceeded in an orderly fashion.

After distributing all the tasks, Qin Miao and Hamilton returned to their respective lounges, where they waited for half an hour before the practice started.

When the time came, Qin Miao changed into his racing suit and headed to the team pit with Barber.

Despite the possibility that the new upgrades might have negative effects, when Qin Miao arrived at the team, the new floor and side inlet were already installed on the car.

After all, the parts could turn out to be as effective as the rear diffuser at the last race weekend.

Of course, the specific effects of these upgrades can only be known after hitting the track.

It's already clear that the simulator data of the car is problematic.

After completing pre-race preparations and putting on his helmet, Qin Miao squeezed himself into the car.

Time flew by, and it was time for the practice session to start.

In the first session, Qin Miao didn't go all out, spending more time collecting data needed for the team to devise a race strategy.

Because of the race timing, only the latter half of the second practice session had track conditions identical to the qualifying and race, so Qin Miao planned to find the most comfortable setup for himself at that time.

There's not much to elaborate on during practice sessions, as the ranking in this phase doesn't carry any reference value—everyone's collecting data.

The only thing that surprised Qin Miao was that during the race, there were hardly any empty seats in the stands.

It is known that during normal European Grand Prix events, if it's a Friday practice session, there would still be spectators on-site, but not too many.