How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

Chapter 1154 - 436: Holding One’s Head High (Part 2)

Then Qin Miao bent towards the stand where the students who came specifically to see him were seated with a very gallant gesture.He then jumped off the racing car, taking a few steps into the crowd of Mercedes team staff.

He directly plunged into the crowd.

At that moment, even with his helmet still on, Qin Miao heard the cheers and laughter around him.

He felt many people patting him enthusiastically, expressing their excitement.

He celebrated with Toto, Elliott, Frankie, and by then Hamilton had also finished his celebration.

The two Mercedes drivers exchanged a smile and embraced briefly.

"Great job!" After the hug, Hamilton praised Qin Miao while patting him firmly on the shoulder.

Feeling a bit shy, Qin Miao shook his head and said, "There were still flaws. I should have slowed down more aggressively at that time. Otherwise, today it might have been you in second place instead of Verstappen."

Hamilton wasn’t bothered, waving his hand as he said, "It’s not your fault. You’ve done everything allowed within the rules. It was me who didn’t close the door properly."

Hamilton remembered clearly the defense against Verstappen and knew the major fault lay with himself.

After a brief chat with Hamilton, Qin Miao turned his attention to post-race matters.

With a smile, he shook hands with Verstappen.

Having discomforted Qin Miao throughout today’s race, Verstappen didn’t have a friendly face for him at the moment.

But Verstappen wouldn’t look at Qin Miao as if he were an enemy.

Verstappen calmly shook Qin Miao’s hand.

On the track, adrenaline might make Verstappen angrily curse at Qin Miao when he couldn’t overtake him.

But out of the race car and a bit calmer, Verstappen could maintain basic composure when facing Qin Miao.

Qin Miao didn’t mind Verstappen’s expression, knowing that had he been blocked the entire race at his home venue by Verstappen and lost the championship, he might not have handled it as well.

After a simple celebration, Qin Miao packed his things, putting away his helmet and gloves, and headed to the post-race interview area.

The Dutch audience on site still didn’t show much friendliness towards Qin Miao, but at least they didn’t boo him.

Once Qin Miao appeared on camera, they were all silent, except for the distant domestic fans and neutral spectators who gave applause and cheers to Qin Miao for his race victory.

Everyone’s grown-up now, and saying things or cursing before the results are out is somewhat reasonable.

But now, Qin Miao had won the race, and continuing to nag with various excuses in front of him seemed somewhat intellectually immature.

The post-race weigh-in area for all drivers was together at the Zandvoort track, so just as Qin Miao finished packing and was preparing for the interview, Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc came over.

Naturally, they congratulated and hailed Qin Miao.

After chatting with them for a while, Qin Miao went for the post-race interview.

"Congratulations, Qin Miao, on a remarkable victory, starting at P5 and finishing at P1. How do you feel now?"

"Very happy. It was an impressive race, and I’m grateful for the audience’s support and motivation. I’ve gained a lot from this Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit." Upon picking up the mic, Qin Miao immediately delivered a sarcastic remark towards the Dutch audience.

After hearing Qin Miao’s words, many Dutch spectators looked displeased.

Alright, alright, post-race diss straight away?

But the Dutch audience on-site really had no rebuttal since Qin Miao won the race.

However, despite the banter, Qin Miao didn’t forget his proper duties: "Of course, the ones I must thank most are the team and the staff in the team’s R&D department. The upgrades brought by the team this week had immediate effects, significantly improving the car’s performance in medium to high-speed corners.

Hamilton helped me a lot on the track. Although it’s unfortunate he couldn’t hold onto second place ultimately, I believe the results from this race should sufficiently satisfy the team."

"We noticed that when the virtual safety car was deployed, numerous F1 drivers, including your teammate Hamilton, pitted for tire changes. However, you remained on track, and many thought it was a mistake. But your choice eventually led to benefiting from Bottas’s full safety car. Was this a deliberate strategy by Mercedes or mere coincidence?"

Qin Miao shrugged: "Without a doubt, it was a coincidence. No one anticipated that only ten laps after the virtual safety car a real safety car would appear.

As for why I didn’t pit at that time, it was mainly because the team and I wanted to use medium tires for a long stint. We believed that the advantage gained during the virtual safety car phase was enough for me to maintain the lead without being overtaken until the end of the race."

"Alright, one last question. According to Pirelli’s statistics, this Grand Prix’s overall fastest car was still Red Bull, yet you’ve won the race and comfortably lead the championship standings.

With seven races remaining, do you think you’ll successfully defend the driver’s championship title in the latter part of the season?"

"Honestly, you’re not the first host to ask me this question.

But my answer remains the same. It’s still too early to discuss this topic. The season is long, and anything is possible. No one knows if a team might suddenly find the critical key to adapt to ground-effect era cars in the second half. What we can do is strive to bring back as many points as possible in each of the remaining races."

The interview wrapped up about here. The host smiled and nodded at Qin Miao, saying, "Alright, congratulations again on winning the Dutch Grand Prix!"

After Qin Miao smiled and thanked, he handed the mic back to the host’s assistant and waved to the fans before heading upstairs to the podium preparation area to await the final awards ceremony.

Before today’s race began, listening to the Dutch anthem on-site made Qin Miao feel a bit jaded, but the song engraved in his soul never felt tiresome, especially in a foreign arena.

The local temperature in Holland was reasonably comfortable today, so Qin Miao didn’t sweat much post-race. He casually wiped his face with a towel and downed a bottle of pure water prepared by the FIA for drivers in the resting room.

Afterwards, Qin Miao watched the race replay on the broadcast video.

Soon Hamilton came over too.

Old Man has always been strict about his image management, tidying up his appearance well before the post-race interview, so he didn’t look disheveled at the moment.

Greeted Hamilton, and just then the broadcast was showing the footage of Verstappen overtaking Hamilton.

Hamilton, while drinking water, watched this footage.

"I wasn’t as decisive in closing the door then; otherwise Max wouldn’t have gotten through." After the video played, Hamilton commented regretfully.

However, Qin Miao had a different view after seeing this: "Not necessarily. On the track, my vision was limited, so I wasn’t entirely clear about what happened behind. But now, I think if it were Max, he might have tried to gently bump you and see if you could be moved aside."

Hamilton was stunned, then carefully recalled what he had just seen on the screen, and thinking of Verstappen’s usual character, fearfully shook his head and said: "It might truly be as you said."