At the end of the 8-day F1 winter test, Zhang Yifei's fastest lap was 1:22.405, which was about 200 milliseconds higher than the fastest lap of 1:22.617 against Yang Long, which was not an exaggeration.

The main reason is, of course, that the faster the lap time, the more difficult it is to improve. It's like a 100-meter dash, which may be a few tenths of a second faster in the later stage, but it will take several years of hard work.

However, there is another aspect, that is, Zhang Yifei is a competitive player, and when there is an opponent, his attention will be more concentrated, and even the whole person is very excited and full of desire to fight.

Therefore, Zhang Yifei's fastest lap before was run in the race, and the test run was a little slower.

But this time is an exception, after all, the winter test is getting later, the various tuning of the car is becoming more stable and perfect, and the familiarity with the new car will also be greatly improved.

You must know that before Zhang Yifei entered the Prost team, he had not participated in the development and testing of JS53 racing cars. Even after joining the team, he needs to make up too much F1 knowledge, and he is not even proficient in the most basic F1 car driving, and the heavy responsibility of test feedback will naturally not be handed over to Zhang Yifei.

It was not until he came to the Catalan circuit for the winter test that Zhang Yifei really touched and drove the JS53 car, and it was normal for him to not run his fastest lap in the first test.

After the final time of 1:22.405 was announced, this lap time was sixth in the team rankings, but in the drivers' rankings, it was in the top ten, even surpassing Kimi Raikkonen's 1:22.522!

For this result, Zhang Yifei did not have much sense of accomplishment in his heart, because Schumacher's final lap time entered the realm of 1 minute and 21 seconds, and the fastest lap reached 1 minute 21 seconds 847!

This lap time is more than 0.5 seconds ahead of Zhang Yifei, which is definitely an exaggerated number. If it were placed in an official competition, Zhang Yifei could only look at Schumacher's taillights.

Although Zhang Yifei knows that Schumacher is very strong at this stage, Ferrari Racing is also one of the strongest cars in recent years. But in the face of such a big gap, he still felt a sense of loss in his heart, after all, his ultimate goal is to surpass the car god Schumacher!

Zhang Yifei was a little dissatisfied with his lap time, but the other team members were full of shock in their hearts.

The newcomers who participated in the winter test for the first time had already run in the top 10 of the test riders in the fastest laps, and the first among the newcomers was only behind the long-established veterans. You must know that this kind of backwardness may not be a backwardness in car skills, but a difference in experience.

More importantly, Zhang Yifei surpassed the previous "rookie king" Kimi Raikkonen!

As a Chinese newcomer who has copied the miracle of Kimi's "triple jump", there is no way to avoid comparisons with Kimi Raikkonen. Although many people would subconsciously think like this before, no one thought that Zhang Yifei would be better than Kimi Raikkonen!

Maybe the fastest lap in winter can't tell the whole story, but there is no doubt that it is also a reflection of strength!

And with the exposure of Zhang Yifei's fastest lap, it has triggered some European media reports.

"The rise of Chinese drivers, the newcomer of the Prost team flies the fastest lap to surpass Kimi Raikkonen!" 》

"The disruptor of the F1 circuit, the first Chinese driver could be the dark horse of the new F1 season. 》

"Battle of the Twin Stars, who is worthy of the title of the strongest newcomer? 》

"With amazing results in winter testing, has Fei proven himself to be a qualified F1 driver? 》

As soon as various media reports came out, Zhang Yifei could barely be regarded as a hot figure in the new F1 season this year, which attracted a lot of attention.

Supporters are looking forward to Zhang Yifei's ideal results in the new F1 season to respond to the previous doubts about him and the Chinese drivers.

And the opponents also hope that Zhang Yifei will stand on the F1 track as soon as possible, so that the true colors of the rookie will be exposed! There are many teams with fierce winter test results, and last year's Winter test results of Prost Team were also not bad, how did the results perform on the track? It's not about eating zero eggs!

Regarding these media reports and discussions, Zhang Yifei is now able to look at them with a normal heart. Competitive sports are all about winning and losing, and today these people praise themselves, but maybe one day their results will collapse, and those who praise will become critics.

As long as you run well enough, opponents can also become fans. Thinking that at the beginning of the Renault Formula Race, his Renault first stop became the "public enemy of the track" because of the accusations of Kubica and others, which was simply booed by the audience.

What happened later? When Silverstone won the raceway, they didn't get cheers and applause, and the boos and ridicule that had been before may not have completely dissipated, but at least they were holding it in their hearts.

Back at the headquarters of the Verle Racing Team, Zhang Yifei continued to train as usual. However, this time he focused on the upcoming Australian Grand Prix, and his debut was not a blockbuster, at least not a shame!

A few days later, Prost returned to the team's headquarters, and the main reason for his absence as the team's founder was to make sponsor appointments for the new F1 season and raise sufficient race funds.

You must know that the $50 million spent on developing a new race car is just the beginning, and the subsequent races on the track, except for changing the tires are slightly cheaper, the other components range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After a full year of running a new F1 season, even if the car is not seriously damaged, various parts and fluids are consumed, at least 5 million to 7 million US dollars must be prepared for the participation fee.

Under normal circumstances, a little margin is given, so the cost of fifteen million dollars in loss of two racing cars is basically impossible to run.

Therefore, the follow-up participation fee of the F1 car will not be much cheaper than the cost of the car, relying on the current European Acer main sponsor, plus a few small sponsors such as the Kwok Group, even if there is a dividend share from the FIA, it is not enough to maintain the operation of the team.

Historically, the Prost team finally collapsed with a high debt of $25 million, because it really couldn't afford to burn this money.

However, this time, perhaps thanks to the butterfly effect, history has deviated greatly. After experiencing a bad cooperation with Renault and Peugeot, Prost actually reached a camel cigarette cooperation that failed in history.

You must know that in this era, the richest sponsors of motorsport are various cigarette brands. For example, the most famous is the cooperation between Marlboro and Ferrari, and the cigarette brand logo covered on the car body is as high as 160 million US dollars a year at the most expensive time.

Even the Beijing Rally, a motorsports port that started in China, is the main sponsor of 555 cigarettes.

It can be said that tobacco is closely related to motorsports, and only the high profits of tobacco companies can burn the money of motorsports. Just like China's military spending in later generations, it was basically covered by tobacco taxes, and the contribution of smokers was also huge.

This time, the Prost team reached a sponsorship agreement with Camel Cigarettes, and the sponsorship fee of 20 million US dollars a year can basically fill the financial gap of the Prost team. However, because Acer Network is the main sponsor and has obtained the joint naming rights of the team, Camel Cigarettes can only settle for the next best thing and get the advertising LOGO in the most conspicuous position of the team.

However, in the past few years, it can be regarded as the last glorious period of cooperation between tobacco companies and motorsports, and with the subsequent European Union smoking ban, the tobacco sponsorship income of F1 events has fallen to the bottom.

The smoking ban has had a big impact on F1 teams, and many tobacco companies have even become the main sponsors of the teams. For example, Ferrari and Marlboro, Weiss and McLaren, Camel Cigarettes and Williams Racing Team, etc.

Later, British American Tobacco went directly to the sea and formed its own brand of British American Team (BAT).

Even the Big Three teams have been smashed down by tobacco companies, not to mention some small teams, and tobacco advertising sponsorship is simply the lifeblood of the team's finances.

So when the smoking ban was issued, many small fleets suffered a financial crisis, and if they couldn't survive, they went bankrupt or were acquired.

But there are some aspects of the smoking ban that have a bright side. Banning tobacco advertising will enable F1 to build a healthier and more positive brand image. For example, Zhang Yifei himself does not smoke or drink, because he knows that motorsports is also a physical event, and smoking and drinking will have adverse effects on his cardiopulmonary function and brain.

In the millisecond-level season competition, if you are a little behind, you will miss the championship, so Zhang Yifei excluded the factors that may cause him to fall behind.

At the same time, saying goodbye to tobacco sponsorship can also attract funds from other areas to invest in motorsports. Because later, the tobacco companies have reached an almost monopoly on general advertising sponsorship, and other sponsors cannot compete with tobacco companies.

Bringing in more field sponsors can also spread the influence of F1 motorsport, and the pains of reform will inevitably be experienced, and this kind of F1 team has no choice.

After solving the team's financial problems, Prost was obviously in a much better mental state, and led the team members to the famous French scenic spot Moulin Rouge for a pre-race celebration.

France is the European country where Zhang Yifei has stayed for the longest time, but he has really never been to these entertainment and tourist attractions.

First, there is no time, after all, Zhang Yifei understands all the achievements, in addition to the foundation of the previous life, the later ones are more relied on the efforts of this life.

The backwardness at the starting line of the formula made Zhang Yifei have no capital to indulge, and he must seize every minute and second to improve himself.

The second point is that there is no interest in it, Zhang Yifei is a professional driver in this life or in his previous life, with strict self-control ability, and naturally he has not developed any habit of clubbing.

So when he goes to a place like the Moulin Rouge, Zhang Yifei has more of the mentality of watching tourist attractions than going to a bar to relax and be happy.

After celebrating and relaxing, the Prost team took the plane to Australia after the final pre-race training, and Zhang Yifei will also usher in his first F1 race!