Chapter 289: Chapter 152: Mercedes No. 66 Connection
"I am extremely honored to join the Mercedes team. Of course, joining Mercedes inevitably brings some pressure upon me, as it’s a very successful team and has been the best over the past few seasons. But I believe in my abilities, and I know the team will provide me with the best support and resources to perform my best on the track. My goal is to win as many victories as possible for the team and contribute to achieving the team’s and driver’s championship."
"Qin, some people are comparing you to Verstappen now, and are debating whether you have the same talent as Verstappen. What would you like to say about that?"
"I think everyone is unique and cannot be completely like someone else. While Verstappen is an outstanding driver, I believe I also have my uniqueness and talent. I will continue to work hard to discover my potential and constantly improve my skills. Ultimately, I believe my achievements will also be unique and incomparable to others."
...
From Qin Miao’s responses, it is clear that someone is coaching him from behind, pretty much like reading diplomatic rhetoric, a typical official response.
But at a press conference, this is usually the kind of scripted talk.
Despite joining Mercedes and having a good record in F2, Qin Miao remains fairly unknown in the F1 paddock. Some people know him, but they are still in the minority.
Therefore, during events like this, it’s best not to create any fuss, stay low-key, and focus on completing the tasks assigned by the team.
Half an hour later, Qin Miao’s work with Mercedes was completed, and the journalists got the material and commission they needed, everyone leaving happy, all looking forward to bright futures.
After the press conference, Qin Miao hurriedly took off his racing suit.
Undeniably, the suit fits very well, but for heat insulation and fire prevention, the suit isn’t very breathable. Wearing it for too long can indeed feel hot.
Moreover, with heating supplied throughout the press conference, Qin Miao’s back was sweating, which was understandable.
After the meeting ended, Qin Miao took Qimeng to his office, and after resting for a while, Toto led him to get acquainted with the team members he would need to work with in the future.
Today was Qin Miao’s signing ceremony with Mercedes, coinciding with the day before the New Year’s holiday. Whether it was Mercedes’s executives or the team’s technicians, everyone was in the team today, making it a perfect opportunity to meet everyone.
The F1 team is different from the F2 team, with the number of tire changers alone multiplying several times.
The F2 tire team has just seven people, while F1 has a total of twenty-one, three times that of F2.
This includes four gunners, eight tire handlers, two stabilizing the car body, four jack technicians (two for regular work, two backups), one signaler, and two people temporarily adjusting the car’s front wing angle.
These tire changers are actually all part-time, like in F2, they are actually team technicians responsible for car maintenance, repair, tuning, and upgrades.
As the later service recipient, this is indeed the best time for Qin Miao to meet and get acquainted with them.
Having known this scene would occur today, Qimeng specially prepared small gifts for everyone, worrying that the number of team members might exceed expectations, so she prepared many gifts.
Of course, none of them were the same.
Among the gifts Qin Miao saw were professional racing gloves, racing models, small helmet merchandise for racers, scale-reduced F1 tires, and vouchers for Lego and racing simulator equipment...
At 3 p.m., all Mercedes team technicians were ready, and with one call from Toto, Qin Miao was brought over.
To avoid keeping his future colleagues waiting, Qin Miao quickly jogged to the team workshop.
Meanwhile, Qimeng borrowed a trailer to transport the gifts over.
From the phone call to arriving at the meeting spot, Qin Miao took at most a minute.
Upon reaching the team assembly workshop, Qin Miao saw through the glass door that there were already many people standing inside.
Seeing Qin Miao appear behind the glass door, they all began clapping and smiling, waiting for Qin Miao to push the door open and come in.
The most crucial moment was when Qin Miao not only saw Toto inside but also saw Hamilton.
Even though Old Man expressed unfavorable opinions about Qin Miao when news spread in the paddock about Qin joining Mercedes, this didn’t stop him from welcoming the newcomer after Qin truly joined Mercedes.
Qin Miao, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, pushed the door open.
As soon as Qin Miao stepped into the assembly workshop, the initial applause erupted into a wave of cheers.
There were even whistles.
Once Qin Miao entered, Toto stepped forward, shook Qin Miao’s hand, and said:
"I am Toto Wolff, Executive Director and Team Leader of the Mercedes Petronas F1 Team. Welcome aboard, I hope we have a pleasant collaboration ahead."
Seeing Toto solemnly introduce himself, Qin Miao quickly snapped back to respond seriously:
"Same here, glad to be working with all of you..."
"James Allison, Chief Technical Officer, welcome aboard."