Chapter 1538 - 563: Binotto’s Gift (2)

Chapter 1538: Chapter 563: Binotto’s Gift (2)

Qin Miao felt that this upgrade optimized the car’s mechanical grip while keeping the loss of top-end speed within an acceptable range, considering that the number of tracks where the W14 can fully exploit its speed advantage is ultimately limited.

This upgrade also gave Qin Miao a bit more confidence in the W14’s performance at the Red Bull Ring.

At least, he shouldn’t be completely overwhelmed by Verstappen on the track.

Even without a safety car, he estimates he could still compete with Verstappen.

If there’s a safety car, even better. As long as a safety car appears in the middle of the race, Qin Miao is likely to keep up with Verstappen’s pace on the track.

Overtaking Verstappen directly wouldn’t be too difficult then.

Of course, this is just simulator data and not real data.

Due to well-known reasons, it’s almost impossible for any team’s simulator to perfectly replicate the real-world performance of the car.

The actual effects of this upgrade can only be truly seen on track on Friday.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that the Austrian Grand Prix is a Grand Prix featuring a sprint race.

This is also what makes Qin Miao feel most uneasy.

In a normal race, if he didn’t beat Verstappen, the difference would, at most, be 7 points on the track, but with a sprint race, it can be 8 points.

Although one point doesn’t seem like much, in the fight for the world championship, every point counts.

Especially since this is Verstappen’s home race, it makes Qin Miao feel even more uneasy.

During this Grand Prix weekend, Qin Miao and Hamilton can only hope that the upgrades brought by the team are effective enough.

For the time being, Qin Miao continued to get familiar with the car on the team’s simulator until Thursday.

On Thursday, when Qin Miao went to the paddock to begin preparations for the start of the Grand Prix, he met a familiar person.

Or rather, he didn’t actually see him; the other party came to Qin Miao.

This person was Binotto.

Even though teacher Bi had already left Ferrari, he still couldn’t work in another team within the paddock due to the gardening leave. His gardening leave would last until January 1, 2024.

Therefore, Qin Miao couldn’t figure out Binotto’s purpose in coming to the paddock.

However, he didn’t refuse Binotto’s invitation to meet.

Qin Miao met Binotto in the lounge of the Mercedes team hospitality area behind the P room.

Seeing Binotto’s tall figure again, Qin Miao was somewhat surprised.

Because at this moment, Qin Miao could no longer see the exhaustion and defeat on Binotto that he had when he first left Ferrari.

Now, Binotto instead resembled the confident figure Qin Miao saw for the first time in the Ferrari P room wearing the Ferrari team uniform.

After they embraced, before Qin Miao could say anything, Binotto got straight to the point and told him, "I’ve already negotiated with Lynk & Co, and next season I will join them."

Qin Miao was slightly stunned, then a happy smile appeared on his face.

"That’s great news! What’s the position Lynk & Co offered you? Are they making you the team leader again?"

It wasn’t inappropriate to inquire about Binotto’s future position, as once he formally joined Lynk & Co, his position would surely become public information.

"No," Binotto shook his head and explained, "In terms of team management, I’m somewhat lacking compared to regular managerial team leaders. I don’t have the capability for such a big responsibility, so upon joining Lynk & Co, I was only given the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer."

Qin Miao rubbed his chin in thought for a moment.

No need to elaborate on Chief Technical Officer—Binotto’s background is in technology, and no one can deny his abilities in engine development.

As for Chief Operating Officer...

It’s probably considering Binotto’s experience as a team leader at Ferrari, along with the fact that Lynk & Co is still undergoing internal upheaval, with frequent personnel changes, continuous layoffs, and recruitment happening simultaneously.

So they still need someone influential to act as a stabilizing force to appease the team and attract more talent in the paddock. Given Binotto’s reputation, many technical experts are likely familiar with him, and having him build bridges would make recruitment simpler.

Qin Miao nodded and then looked at Binotto, stating, "I won’t ask about anything else; at least you seem quite satisfied with your current situation."

"Of course, being able to return to my roots in another team is a pretty satisfying thing."

Qin Miao thought of something and asked, "I remember Lynk & Co is planning to develop an engine with Red Bull. Now that you’ve joined, does that mean..."

"Yes," Binotto nodded and smiled at Qin Miao, but didn’t elaborate further.

Since Binotto was still on gardening leave, a secret conversation with Lynk & Co to provide some guidance on engine development was something Ferrari wouldn’t object to, although openly discussing it could become troublesome if recorded.

After all, the paddock is never short of journalists looking to create big stories.

Qin Miao pondered Binotto’s smile; since he didn’t elaborate, Qin Miao concluded there are many details that couldn’t be disclosed.

But Qin Miao had a premonition that once Red Bull and Lynk & Co developed their engine, they would surely become strong competitors on the track.

At least, there would be no weakness in engine performance.

As for stability... who knows?

Maybe the low engine stability during Binotto’s tenure wasn’t due to him but because of internal restructuring within Ferrari.

After skipping that topic, Qin Miao chatted with Binotto for another ten minutes or so before he left.

Since Binotto had been a team leader, he understood that although it was Thursday with no race, drivers were still busy, so he didn’t wish to disturb Qin Miao for too long. Before leaving, Binotto took a small gift box from his pocket and handed it to Qin Miao.

"What? Is this for me?" Qin Miao joked upon seeing the small gift box.

Binotto rolled his eyes, "No way, it’s a gift for your daughter."

Qin Miao didn’t open it and instead put it away after respectfully receiving the gift from Binotto, saying, "I’ll thank you on her behalf."

"Aren’t you going to open it to see what it is?" Binotto asked curiously.

Qin Miao shrugged, "Didn’t you say it’s a gift for my daughter? Since it’s for her, it wouldn’t be right for me to open it. Let her open it when she grows up."

Binotto didn’t mind and left once confident Qin Miao had accepted the gift.

Though Binotto said it was a gift for Qin Miao’s daughter, it was actually a token of thanks for Qin Miao.

But why was he thanking Qin Miao? That was Binotto’s own matter.

It was, however, likely not a valuable item, simply a gesture of gratitude for helping Binotto secure a fulfilling position at Lynk & Co.

As for Red Bull... Binotto joining Lynk & Co would surely mean some intersections with Red Bull.

After all, it was no secret that Lynk & Co and Red Bull were co-investing in engine development.

With Binotto being a prominent figure in engine research, anyone would consider possible connections upon him joining Lynk & Co.

But Qin Miao had no plans to delve deep into this matter.

After meeting with Binotto, Qin Miao returned to the usual schedule of a Grand Prix weekend.

Meetings, press conferences, practice sessions, track walks, filming videos, attending events, and meet-and-greets—a full schedule that went on until nearly evening.

Friday was the day for the first practice session and qualifying.

Recently, the race regulations had become quite complicated.

This Grand Prix weekend at the Red Bull Ring only featured one practice session, followed directly by qualifying, which would determine the starting order for Sunday’s main race.

And then comes Saturday.

Saturday morning is for the sprint qualifying, and the afternoon features the sprint race.

Sunday is for the main race.