Chapter 1390 - 523: Making Peace with Oneself

Chapter 1390: Chapter 523: Making Peace with Oneself

For a moment, Qin Miao truly didn’t know what to do.

But deep down, Qin Miao leaned towards transferring to Ferrari.

After all, fans know that I, Qin Miao, have always been a steadfast Iron Buddha Temple supporter.

You could see it from my youth training period!

Of course, Qin Miao doesn’t think Mercedes will offer the same terms.

Even if Toto is the boss of the Mercedes team, it’s the same.

After all, Toto only owns a third of the team’s shares, not a third of Mercedes, and the team isn’t his one-man show.

Even if Toto wants to match, Ferrari’s terms are likely beyond Mercedes’ reach.

So, what Qin Miao is mainly struggling with is how to break the news to Toto.

After all, truth be told, Toto has been quite kind to me over the past two years, whether in recognizing my potential or in offering me daily perks.

For a moment, Qin Miao was indeed a bit conflicted.

But while Qin Miao was still mulling over it, the phone rang again. This time, it wasn’t an unmarked stranger; it was the head of Qin Miao’s management company.

After picking up, the other party told Qin Miao about Ferrari’s sudden raise in their offer and strangely agreeing to all the previously proposed additional clauses.

The other party was trembling with excitement while discussing this matter with Qin Miao.

Because, in his opinion, the contract was incredibly advantageous, and even more so, Ferrari actually agreed to it.

Qin Miao was, of course, mentally prepared for this, nodded to show understanding, and hung up the phone.

Rubbing his brow, Qin Miao took out his phone to scroll through the contacts, but for a moment, he really couldn’t think of whom to call at this time.

However, Qin Miao didn’t struggle for long. With Barber’s notification, Qin Miao had to attend a banquet here in the UAE.

Qin Miao was already quite familiar with such work.

Besides, staying busy would help Qin Miao forget about these dilemmas.

Then came various parties and promotional film shoots.

Time swiftly moved to Thursday.

Qin Miao once again arrived at the Jeddah Coastal Bay Circuit, the venue for the Saudi Grand Prix.

The entire Mercedes team was full of confidence about today’s race.

Because whether it was in the team’s simulator or the supercomputer’s computations, Mercedes’ W14 was undoubtedly well-suited for a high-speed track like Marina Bay.

Despite its twisted appearance from a top view, anyone who’s driven F1 on this track knows it’s a thrilling high-speed circuit.

All teams switched to low-drag aerodynamic kits upon arriving at this track.

Mercedes was no exception.

Moreover, at the same time, the team factory provided new car upgrades for both Qin Miao and Hamilton.

Today’s upgrades weren’t extensive, merely further optimizing the car’s cooling system.

While it couldn’t prevent the car from overheating entirely, the cooling efficiency increased by 20% compared to before, and the hot air, after being expelled, could blend into the downstream air flow of the car’s slim sidepods, reducing drag and improving top speed during high-speed runs.

However, since the W14 was already on the verge of the weight limit for Mercedes, this cooling system sacrificed some weight efficiency, adding 400g to the car.

But this weight was within an acceptable range for Mercedes, given that the performance gains in lap speed outweighed the 400g weight penalty.

These were all the upgrades for this race.

Although the upgrades brought only a minor improvement to lap speed, probably less than 0.05 seconds per lap,

this upgrade effectively extended the engine’s lifespan for Mercedes.

Such an upgrade was considered a long-term benefit, which both Qin Miao and Hamilton were keen to see.

The longer the season, the greater the benefits from this upgrade.

This was why the upgrade was applied right after the opening race.

For the rest of Thursday, Qin Miao participated in various events.

Of course, the team knew Qin Miao’s interests, so the activities arranged were mostly ones Qin Miao was interested in.

Along with track walks, Thursday turned out to be fulfilling.

Time quickly moved to Friday.

The day of the two practice sessions.

Originally, Qin Miao intended to inform Toto about Ferrari’s offer and his thoughts of leaving Mercedes during this Grand Prix weekend.

However, this weekend, Toto was absent from the paddock due to other matters.

So, this matter had to be shelved for now.

Moreover, Qin Miao began to worry. If he told Toto the news ahead of time, would he face targeted actions from the team?

Like being deprived of regular resources, or team orders on the track favoring Hamilton.

But Qin Miao quickly came around.

Given his tire-preservation ability, even if the team had such intentions, they probably couldn’t execute them.

On the other hand, although Mercedes’ car this season was powerful, Verstappen’s speed in the opening race proved that Mercedes hadn’t regained its pre-ground effect era competitiveness.

Compared to Red Bull, there was still a noticeable performance gap.

If Mercedes wants to win the drivers’ championship, or even the constructors’ championship, it still relies on me.

This is my confidence in being upfront with Toto. Even if Toto knows I’m about to leave, he wouldn’t dare, nor would he, make a complete break with me.