Chapter 1404 - 528: Coming Clean

Chapter 1404: Chapter 528: Coming Clean

Qin Miao spoke the truth, although Brackley is considered Mercedes’ territory, Mercedes sends a sum of money to the local police station in Brackley every year.

Just to ensure that the local police have enough funds to send more personnel to protect the property of Mercedes team employees living in Brackley.

But the excellent matching mechanisms abroad and the predatory trait ingrained in the genes of the Angsa people are hard to change, which means that even in Brackley, burglaries occur frequently.

The main reason why Qin Miao’s house didn’t encounter such incidents is that the neighbors know it’s Qin Miao’s home, and Qimeng gave them some money, so they agreed to install bright and noticeable cameras around Qin Miao’s house.

You know, foreigners really dislike cameras, so seeing so many around here keeps thieves at bay.

So, it’s understandable that Qin Miao sent those significant trophies away for safekeeping.

Toto nodded knowingly.

"It’s indeed better to keep them in a safer place. By the way, how’s it going in Monaco?" Toto asked curiously after nodding.

Qin Miao, brewing the tea he brought, shrugged and said, "It’s okay, the climate in Monaco is nice, there are friends to chat with, no shortage of entertainment, always something fun to do on days off, but Monaco is small, the streets are crowded, most of the time you walk to get around, and you can’t buy a motorcycle due to local environmental policies."

Qin Miao paused: "But in the end, no personal income tax in Monaco, so it’s pretty enjoyable living there."

Toto nodded, sat across from Qin Miao, and took a sip of the tea Qin Miao handed over.

After sitting down, Qin Miao stretched lazily and said directly, "Toto, you’ve probably guessed it, I asked you here today because there’s something I want to discuss with you."

Toto took a sip of tea and then said, "I guess it should be good news."

Qin Miao also took a sip of tea, then promptly put the cup down because it was too hot.

Looking at the calm Toto in front of him, and the tea that was now significantly lower in front of him, Qin Miao pursed his lips but continued: "I’m afraid for Mercedes, it’s not exactly good news."

Without waiting for Toto to ask, Qin Miao directly said, "Ferrari has made me an offer."

After hearing Qin Miao’s calm words, Toto’s left eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

However, Toto still hoped inside that Qin Miao’s talk today wasn’t to tell him bad news, but to leverage Ferrari’s offer to pressure Mercedes for better negotiation terms for himself.

Honestly, Toto was willing to compromise with Qin Miao, considering the double World Champion’s performance this year merits a better contract.

So Toto remained composed and said, "Is that so? These things are negotiable, let me know any demands you have."

After saying that, Toto was still somewhat curious: "May I know the specifics of Ferrari’s offer to you? It’s something I could argue for on the board."

Qin Miao didn’t hide anything and directly said, "Ferrari offered me an annual salary of 55 million US Dollars, a solid number one driver status, the freedom to refuse all commercial events arranged by the team unconditionally, personnel appointment rights of my personal technician team, and the right to decide the car’s development direction, annual tours to Italy... um... that part isn’t significant."

Actually, the perks Ferrari offered Qin Miao were plenty, but Qin Miao knew that those later ones could also be offered by Mercedes, so mentioning them wasn’t necessary.

Toto’s original idea was no matter what Ferrari offered Qin Miao, he could just match it, a simple matter considering Mercedes’ deep pockets. As one of the owners of the Mercedes team, Toto had quite a bit of room to maneuver.

Upon hearing Ferrari’s offer of a 55 million US Dollar annual salary for Qin Miao, Toto could still accept it, simply raise the double World Champion’s salary to align with the seven-time champion. Although giving Qin Miao a raise would generate some pressure from Hamilton’s side, considering Qin Miao’s performance, earning the same as Hamilton wouldn’t be strongly opposed by many.

However, as Qin Miao mentioned the latter conditions, Toto fell silent.

Can Mercedes give Qin Miao a number one driver status?

Clearly not.

As long as Hamilton exists in the Mercedes team, and he hasn’t shown any significant decline in ability, not even to the point of being worse than Latifi, Qin Miao would not gain an explicit number one driver status, nor would the team shift resources to favor Qin Miao.

The best they could do would be a fair distribution of resources between the two drivers, as is the current situation.

Upon hearing the clear conditions Ferrari offered Qin Miao, Toto immediately sensed trouble.

Then there was Qin Miao’s ability to appoint and remove technicians from his crew.

Upon hearing this, Toto just went silent.

Because at Mercedes, having Hamilton become Qin Miao’s wingman is impossible.

Because it means a driver would take personnel appointment power from Toto’s hands, even if it’s just for a crew, it still involves life-and-death authority over others.

Though Qin Miao might not use this right, having it or not is a separate matter altogether.