CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 126: THE STRANGE CONTRACT

Then, before Ferrari could digest this huge surprise, the bad news came: nearly every team in the paddock looking to strengthen their driver lineup called Qin Miao’s agent, and reportedly the offers were extremely generous.

At that point, Ferrari couldn’t sit still any longer; if other teams were already waving shovels in their garden, and they could still manage to sit tight, then the top brass at Ferrari might as well be dragged out for execution.

So, after receiving this news, Ferrari had a brief internal meeting and came up with a proposal for Qin Miao’s future contract within a day.

Although it seemed that Ferrari was slower to react compared to other teams, the others were still making verbal promises to Qin Miao and merely trying to get in touch with him. Any real intention would take some time.

But Ferrari was different. They had already straightened out the contract terms, ready for Qin Miao to sign, provided he finished in the top three of this F2 season and accumulated 40 points.

Then Ferrari would provide Qin Miao with enough pre-season testing time to rack up the FIA-required driving hours in an F1 car, and he would move up to F1 next season.

However, whether he can join Ferrari still depends on Qin Miao’s performance in F2.

Eventually, it was Qin Miao’s own words that broke the silence he had created: "Bi, I understand your concerns, and I know you’re worried I might leave Ferrari. But you also know that we Chinese are deeply emotional. Ferrari guided me into the racing world, and it was Mr. Lawson who discovered me from a sea of ordinary people. I have feelings for Ferrari!"

"So you can be assured that I won’t leave Ferrari in the short term, at least not before this F2 season ends."

"As for becoming an F1 driver... to be honest, I don’t resist driving an F1 car, but I don’t like being in the spotlight for long periods. I also dislike giving interviews, where I know I can’t express my truest thoughts. I don’t want to engage in the political games in the paddock or cleverly maneuver against others. I just want to drive well, so for now, I don’t have plans to enter F1."

After listening to Qin Miao’s thoughts, Binotto and Lawson exchanged a glance.

Their hesitation regarding Qin Miao was precisely here, but they realized that both they and the other teams trying to poach Qin Miao overlooked one thing: no one expected that Qin Miao simply had no desire to become an F1 driver.

Furthermore, the reason for Qin Miao’s withdrawal was the pre-race activities and post-race interviews that could increase his fame, and the politics in the paddock.

You should know that the more activities you participate in within the paddock, the greater your influence becomes, and influence can directly translate to financial gain in the paddock.

As long as you have influence, countless sponsors would break down your door to give you money.

Summing up Qin Miao’s words in his mind, Lawson quickly thought of someone, Kimi Raikkonen.

Qin Miao’s remarks and stance were basically identical to Kimi’s style in the paddock.

However, Kimi displayed this side of himself after entering the paddock, whereas Qin Miao chose not to enter the paddock to show this side of himself.

These two can be said to be rare anomalies in the F1 paddock.

Feeling a bit of a headache, Lawson scratched his thinning hair and was just about to persuade Qin Miao. After all, Qin Miao’s status was quite important to him.

Because the majority of F1 drivers who came out of the Ferrari Driver Academy ultimately did not race for the Ferrari F1 team, now only Leclerc remains.

To prevent the notion that Ferrari’s training talents all went to other teams from becoming a reality, Lawson, as the head of Ferrari’s driver development, knew he still needed to strive to retain Qin Miao.

However, before he could speak, Binotto spoke first and asked: "What if we stipulate in the contract that we can reduce your involvement in commercial activities?"

After all, F1 is a commercial league, and the Liberty Media Group is here to make money. Moreover, drivers’ media activities are also a key source of income for the team.

So Binotto didn’t say they could exempt Qin Miao from commercial activities, but rather reduce his involvement in such activities.

Qin Miao was taken aback, and his eyes brightened.

Young people can’t hide their thoughts, and the change in Qin Miao’s expression was entirely captured by Binotto sitting in front of him.

Seeing Qin Miao’s expression, Binotto knew there was hope; it’s not that Qin Miao doesn’t want to drive in F1, but he’s averse to F1’s commercial activities and paddock politics.

In that case, according to Qin Miao’s wishes, they would reduce the commercial activities he is required to participate in. Then they would find a driver with some influence to be Ferrari’s third driver and handle these activities, giving Qin Miao more free time beyond the most basic commitments.

Before Qin Miao could respond, Binotto spoke again: "Of course, you also know about the budget cap that the FIA will start implementing next year, so our budget for driver salaries is limited. If you don’t want to participate in commercial activities, we would need to find a third driver to fill that gap for the team, which means your salary would certainly be low." Binotto added: "Also, the contract you are asking for is quite special. Giving you this contract requires me to bear significant pressure, and the board will inevitably inquire, so you must produce convincing results in this F2 season."