How Did I Become an F1 Driver?-Chapter 895 - 354: Bahrain Opening Race

This is just part of it, because Qin Miao provides more data and feedback on the track than Hamilton, the team's upgrades and tuning preferences for the car in the future will lean more towards Qin Miao.

Therefore, Qin Miao's results in the first and second practice sessions are not outstanding. Let alone compared to the driver in first place, the time gap between him and Hamilton has reached 0.7 seconds.

This time gap made the three commentators from Five-Star Sports who are commentating on the race have their eyes twitching. Could it be that Qin Miao isn't adapting to the driving style of the ground effect cars this season?

But whether the facts are as the commentators are worried about, we have to wait until the qualifying and race days.

At the end of the first day's work, Qin Miao, wiping his sweat, arrived at the post-race interview area.

The reporter saw Qin Miao and asked with a smile: "Qin Miao, how does it feel to return to the Grand Prix weekend after the winter break?"

Qin Miao smiled and said happily: "Of course, it's great. I really miss this feeling. You know, Grand Prix weekends are always exciting, the thrilling work, the chase and pressure from opponents, everything makes me feel excited."

"How about the car this season? It seems like your state isn't very good today, consistently failing to show an impressive speed." The reporter mainly referred to Qin Miao ranking outside the top 7 in both practice sessions, not to mention comparing with his teammate Hamilton and first place Leclerc.

After organizing his thoughts a bit, Qin Miao responded: "The car indeed encountered quite a few problems, but I believe the team can handle them well, and we collected plenty of data today. The current progress is quite acceptable. I trust the team will eventually provide us with a competitive car, and we'll see the final results then."

"Are there any distinct differences between this season's car and last year's? How does it feel to drive this season's car?"

"The differences are certainly significant. The most direct feeling with the new regulation cars is due to the introduction of the ground effect floor, the overall cornering speed of the car is faster than we imagined, and the mechanical grip is stronger than we thought. The difference is mainly in the top speed being somewhat decreased."

...

Looking at Qin Miao's responses, on the Red Bull team side, Horner, Marco, and Newey—the absolute leaders of the Red Bull team—are in a meeting room, and the screen is playing the interview footage after Qin Miao's second practice.

"Could it really be as Qin Miao says that Mercedes might be facing difficulties?" Marco asked the other two senior executives at Red Bull after watching the completed video.

"To be honest, not necessarily." Newey shook his head and said: "I've also studied Mercedes's aerodynamic design.

Mercedes's design actually reduces the overall projection area of the car body to decrease airflow resistance when driving at high speeds.

Honestly, when I first saw the design, I was amazed. After Mercedes launched such a design, I specifically studied aerodynamic regulations, and Mercedes's design does not violate FIA technical rules. I very much admire the engineer who proposed this idea because it's a bold, aggressive, but effective design approach.

As for what Qin Miao said in the interview, I admit the young man's talent is indeed high, but you've seen his old and wise performance and seasoned experience on the track, so his words aren't very credible. I still believe this season Mercedes will continue to put enormous pressure on us on the track."

At this moment, Horner said: "Actually, that's not entirely true. Just last week, the Honda engine department brought us good news I think everyone hasn't forgotten, so I believe this season we don't need to worry about engine power issues."

Here, both Newey and Marco showed smiles on their faces.

As for Mercedes, it can be said that Red Bull understands Mercedes even better than Mercedes itself.

In the hybrid era, there's indeed no way out; Red Bull's expertise in aerodynamics couldn't play a decisive role in that era.

In the hybrid era, a brand-new floor could only bring a 0.5-second per lap improvement to the car, while a brand-new engine could bring a one-second or even a 1.5-second per lap improvement.

This is the effect achieved under the same funds invested in both components.

Therefore, Mercedes dominated the paddock with its season-ahead engine prowess.

Red Bull even proposed purchasing Mercedes engines, but Mercedes turned them down.

Mercedes isn't foolish; during the period Red Bull dominated, what was showcased was that terrifying aerodynamic design capability. Initially, compared to you, I only had an advantage with the engine, and then if I let you have my engine, am I still playing? 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

For teams like Williams, Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes doesn't have as many concerns because selling engines to these teams wouldn't threaten its position.

However, with the introduction of ground effect rules, things have changed significantly because this era the car floor accounts for 60% of the car's downforce, so a new floor could bring great speed improvements to the cars in this era.

And because of the porpoising, the output of the car engine has marginal effects; the closer to the limits of the car's chassis, the less speed advantage the car's engine can provide.