How Did I Become an F1 Driver?

"And Roxin regretted letting you pay for the car purchase a long time ago. When he drinks too much at our gatherings, he laments the decision he made."

Qin Miao imagined Roxin making that expression in his mind. He couldn't help but shiver.

"Although he wants to take your car away, if you actually ask him for it, he won't refuse."

"Forget it, let him keep an eye on it for me."

...

After chatting for a while, Qin Miao didn't continue to disturb Frankie's work.

He found a suitable angle and began watching Reyes and the others busy themselves with his race car.

At last, before the official start of the winter tests, Reyes and the team put the rear engine cover back on Qin Miao's car.

As the countdown ended, the winter tests officially began, and the director started the live broadcast.

However, Qin Miao couldn't immediately get into the race car to start his testing because, after the recent repairs, many things on Qin Miao's car were not properly installed.

In short, Qin Miao had to continue waiting.

And Qin Miao ended up waiting for more than an hour.

At this point, Qin Miao's race car didn't have the mesh-like testing grille for aerodynamic parts installed; it was just an ordinary, clean W12.

But in reality, after all that fuss, Qin Miao's car not only had over 30 kilograms of ballast added but also at least 200 sensors invisible from the outside, and the engine power was limited by 10%, making it difficult to tell reality from illusion.

Undoubtedly, with these additions and a series of limitations, the car's performance would be severely affected.

But winter testing isn't a competition; the main purpose of winter tests is to identify issues with the car and solve them.

After confirming nothing was missing, Qin Miao, with a nod of approval from Toto, put on his helmet, secured the Hans System, and walked towards his race car.

At this time, Reyes placed a step beside Qin Miao's car. Since this was Qin Miao's first time getting into a real race car, a little assistance was also a necessary procedure.

Stepping on the footrest, Qin Miao first placed one foot into his race car's cockpit, then both feet went in. Then he used the crocs to leverage himself, maneuvering both legs into the monocoque.

The area around Qin Miao's knees was padded with a layer of soft material, so once his feet were in, he basically had no room to move his knees.

Although he couldn't move at this moment, he also didn't have to worry about his legs being flung around when taking high-speed turns, making it impossible to control the throttle and brakes.

Qin Miao slightly hunched his body, resting himself into the race car seat.

At this moment, Qin Miao wasn't sitting in the car; he was lying in it.

The race car was already oil primed and preheating, while Old Man's car was still being prepared.

Qin Miao looked down to adjust his seatbelt, connected the helmet's radio, and inserted the water tube into the water hose.

At this moment, Reyes brought over a screen and attached it to Qin Miao's flip-flops.

Anyone who has played the "F1" series games knows what these two screens display — tire data, other drivers' performances, the selected tires, current tire inventory, testing plans, and tuning options.

The only difference lies in the teams' different layouts and UI.

After taking a quick look and drinking some water, confirming the water supply was normal, Qin Miao spoke in his TR: "Radio test..."

Once the winter tests started, Frankie, who had moved to the command area, turned around and gave Qin Miao a thumbs-up while replying in the TR: "Radio test, communication is very clear."

After confirming there was no issue with the radio, Qin Miao reached out and grabbed the steering wheel customized to his hand shape.

Actually, the steering wheel doesn't have much tactile feel because Qin Miao was wearing gloves. Even when grabbing the wheel, he couldn't feel the texture on it.

When Qin Miao gripped the steering wheel, it felt natural. After securely holding it, the wheel fitted perfectly with the lines of his hand.

Holding the steering wheel gave him confidence, without the worry of the wheel slipping out due to excessive force while steering.

Simultaneously, F1 cars have power steering systems, so Qin Miao didn't have to resist the G-forces as he would in an F2 car.

However, due to the higher G-forces experienced in an F1 car at high speed compared to an F2, the effort Qin Miao needed to exert when driving an F1 was not much less than in an F2.

After getting ready, the starter rod inserted into the rear of Qin Miao's car began to turn.

The principle of this device is exactly the same as those hand-cranked handles on old rural tractors.

Only now it's electric, whereas back then it was hand-cranked.

In fact, as long as the F1 car engine is warmed up to operating temperature, it can be automatically started.

But every gram of weight on an F1 car greatly affects its speed, so unless it's mandatory by the FIA, no team would add a motor to their race car just to help with automatic starting.

Once the engine was started, the monitor clamped between Qin Miao's flip-flops was taken away.

Frankie's voice came through the TR again: "Alright, we're ready to go. The main focus of this test is the durability of the medium tires and the ERS's energy consumption. Since this is your first time driving a real car on the track, I suggest you start a bit steady for the first few laps and gradually speed up later. The winter tests will be long enough for you to familiarize yourself with this car."