How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

The FIA Awards Ceremony is coming up soon, also commonly referred to as the annual meeting in our country.

Given Mercedes' understanding of Qin Miao, this guy definitely doesn't have a styling team to prepare a suitable outfit for him to attend the awards ceremony.

Although this awards ceremony won't be attended in person due to the pandemic, almost everyone will participate remotely.

But even in a remote setting, most drivers wear a decent suit when accepting their awards. While not extravagant, they do look quite spirited.

If left to Qin Miao's own devices, even for an awards ceremony, he'd likely show up in home clothes, possibly just a short-sleeve T-shirt and baggy shorts.

Since next season he'll be with Mercedes, for the sake of both his and Mercedes' image, they can't possibly let Qin Miao attend the awards ceremony dressed like that.

This is a matter of respecting both the FIA and Qin Miao's year of hard work.

Summoned for assistance, Qin Miao rode his scooter to the Mercedes factory.

Upon knowing Zhou Guanyu had arrived, the Mercedes staff immediately guided him on a tour of their factory. After all, he's a well-known driver in the paddock, and Mercedes recognizes the importance of good public relations.

Besides, if one day Zhou Guanyu joins them, would a good impression of Mercedes influence his future decisions? What if making a beneficial choice for Mercedes someday?

Anyway, it's just a small act of kindness, and the cost is something Mercedes can afford.

On another note, Qin Miao and Qimeng headed to Mercedes' image design department. Although they didn't visit this department during their tour a few days ago, it is well-equipped.

Qin Miao was fussed over by the staff inside. When he came out, they had given him a new hairstyle, making him look much more spirited than before.

As for the two suits prepared for Qin Miao, there's still some time before the awards ceremony begins, so there's enough time for the suits to be ready.

After wrapping this up, Toto came over to explain the FIA awards ceremony process to Qin Miao, including the questions the host would ask, and handed him the acceptance speech Mercedes had prepared for him.

"The awards ceremony is live but all driver interviews are recorded. Just answer the questions on the sheet and send me a clear video recording when you get back. Of course, feel free to answer as you see fit if you have your own ideas."

After making sure Qin Miao understood, Toto hurriedly left. It's clear he's busy at the end of the year.

Receiving the documents from Toto, Qin Miao clearly saw the questions and answers on the sheet.

There were interview responses for his F2 championship and questions about the best rookie.

The answers were quite lengthy.

Back home, after receiving the suits a few days later, Qin Miao, urged by Qimeng, recorded the responses for both awards. He then sent the video materials to Toto, who confirmed there were no issues, and Qin Miao's main tasks for the FIA awards ceremony were complete.

...

On December 22, the FIA awards ceremony was held, and Qin Miao, Qimeng, and Zhou Guanyu sat at home watching the entire interview segment of the event.

Honestly, this was the first time Qin Miao saw his own interview on TV, and it was a bit embarrassing, making him want to dig into the floor with his toes.

Zhou Guanyu, on the other hand, felt a twinge of envy, wondering when he'd get to accept an award himself.

The day after the FIA awards ceremony ended, Mercedes called Qin Miao, informing him that his trophy from the FIA had been delivered to Mercedes. After replicating one for their museum, they'd return the original to him.

Of course, if Qin Miao's home doesn't have space for these trophies, Mercedes could help keep them, and he could retrieve them whenever he needed to in the future.

When Qimeng helped find a place, he considered Qin Miao's excessive number of trophies, making storage troublesome. So, Qin Miao actually has a dedicated room for these items.

Contemplating his home already filled with F2 Event Champion trophies covering a wall, Qin Miao ultimately decided to only bring over his F2 Championship trophy, completing his F2 12-race event champion collection.

Zhou Guanyu looked at the trophy-covered wall in Qin Miao's home, feeling less envious of him winning awards. He noticed the trophy wall filled with trophies, except for a missing sprint race trophy spot for the UK event.

Zhou Guanyu remembered that he was right behind Qin Miao then, when Qin Miao was dueling with Drogovich.

Due to insufficient tire working temperature, Qin Miao accidentally made a mistake and went off the track, his car getting stuck in the gravel unable to get out.

Qin Miao's unexpected withdrawal granted Zhou Guanyu the win in that race.

It was hard to imagine that throughout the 12 F2 races in the season, achieving 20 wins and a second place, Qin Miao would make such a mistake.

But luckily, the biggest beneficiary of Qin Miao's mistake was Zhou Guanyu himself.

And Qin Miao's error at least proved he wasn't unbeatable, although after that race, he didn't miss winning any F2 races again.