Zhang Yifei, who was standing in front of the mirror, looked at the image that could only be seen on TV inside, and his heart was full of emotion.

Once upon a time, this was a scene that I could not have imagined, but now it has become a reality. And Zhang Yifei also knows the future history, he has set a record for the official Chinese F1 driver 20 years in advance, and I only hope that the China of this world does not need to wait for the next Chinese F1 driver for another 20 years.

Wearing the F1 driver's signature baseball cap, Zhang Yifei walked out of the room and followed the team members to the venue of the press conference.

Today, as the first meeting of the new F1 season, it is not only the interaction with the fans, but also the responsibility of some press conferences, so there are many media reporters on the scene, which is more grand and formal than all the sub-stations behind.

Eleven teams, a total of 22 official drivers, plus team management, etc., there were hundreds of people present at the meeting.

Of course, the only ones who can really be called the protagonists of this are the drivers and bosses of the eleven teams. If you divide it in more detail, it is the star driver and the owner of the big team that can be regarded as the protagonist.

All the media were already waiting at the press conference, and when the F1 drivers walked by, the flashing lights could barely open their eyes. In addition to these media reporters, there are also tens of thousands of team and driver fans, waiting for the opportunity to meet the drivers directly after the interview.

If you're lucky, you'll even get a driver's autograph or some team memorabilia.

You must know that although the majority of the team's income is sponsored and FIA dividends, once it reaches the level of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes-Benz, the profits brought by peripheral derivatives will also be amazing.

This is very similar to the football industry, such as jerseys, shoes, dolls, dolls, etc., which can bring huge profits to the team. If the price is a little higher, it can be released together with other products, such as a certain mobile phone Real Madrid co-branded version, a certain watch Barcelona commemorative model.

Even if you are famous enough, you can make up for any food and home, which is the value of building a brand.

Therefore, the smaller the fleet in later generations, even if the budget is small, it will be very difficult to operate. The annual budget of the Ferrari team ranks first, even several times that of the small team, but it can still make money when it mixes with the wind and water, which is the difference brought by brand value.

The 22 official drivers made a collective appearance and stood in a row for the media to take pictures. And the bigwigs of each team are standing aside at the moment, not wanting to steal the limelight from these drivers.

However, in addition to the teams, there is also the current president of the FIA, Morris, who has just addressed the FIA's plans and aspirations for the new F1 season, and is also standing aside at the moment, watching the current F1 drivers be photographed by the media.

Taking advantage of the crowd's focus on the F1 driver, Prost moved to Morris's side and shook hands with him with a smile on his face.

However, compared to Prost's enthusiasm, Morris is obviously much colder. It's not that he has any trouble with Prost, but because Prost is not a faction with him, and even used to be a hostile faction!

Morris is British, while the previous FIA president, Jean-Marie Barlist, was French.

In the 80s, there was a battle between the FISA (International Motor Sports Federation) led by Barliste and the FOCA (F1 Constructors' Union) led by Bernie Ecclestone.

In the end, a compromise was reached and a peace agreement was signed, but in fact Barlist had the upper hand and F1 was later completely under the jurisdiction of the FIA.

Morris was a member of the British FOCA organization, and later he witnessed the dispute between Senna and Prost, and how much Barliste, who was dealing with the controversy at the time, was biased towards his fellow Frenchmen.

The combination of these two events, as well as the subsequent contest for the FIA presidency, made Morris not have a good impression of the Frenchman. Especially Prost was still a party in the controversy in the world back then, and Morris was even more disinterested in him.

The grievances and grievances of the year, Prost also knew in his heart, he didn't know what he could change Morris's mind, he just hoped that he could solve one thing, that is, about Zhang Yifei's super driver's license!

You must know that the start of F1 is just around the corner, but so far, Zhang Yifei's super driver's license has not passed the special approval!

Last year's Kimi Raikkonen, although the process of applying for a super driver's license was also full of twists and turns, claiming to have received special approval before the game. But in fact, after Kimi's winter test, he got the approval of the super driver's license, which can only be regarded as a thrill.

And Zhang Yifei's competition is about to start in a few days, and the super driver's license has not yet come down, which makes Prost really a little hot!

Without a super license, it means that the driver is not eligible to race on the Formula 1 track, and then all plans of the Prost team will be disrupted, and only the current test driver Berdais will be replaced.

But the problem is that the gap between Boerdais and Zhang Yifei is too big to be comparable at all. The result of such a hard top is estimated to be much better than that of the later Suzuki Akuri, who asked the Japanese driver Iide Yuji to go up to the hard top.

The Prost team suffered last year's defeat and this year is their only chance to turn around, and they can't afford to finish bottom for the second time!

"Chairman Morris, there are still a few days before the start of the Australian Grand Prix, but the team's Chinese newcomers still don't have a special super driver's license. Can the council convene a special meeting to complete the approval of the superlicense for the riders before the race? ”

Hearing Prost's words, Morris was expressionless, just looking in the direction of the driver.

"You should know that this kind of thing is difficult, and I have already held a review meeting on the board of directors, but many directors feel that Chinese drivers do not meet the standard of F1 drivers, and I am also very embarrassed by this."

Bewilderment? This made Prost feel a little angry, why didn't you see you so embarrassed when you approved Kimi before?

Kimi only won a British Renault Series championship, while Fei won the Renault Euro 2000 Drivers' Championship and the O'Island Grand Prix F3 Championship, which is more convincing than Kimi in terms of results, and even meets the criteria for applying for a super driver's license.

If even this is difficult, then Kimi is not qualified to stand on the track at all!

Prost was angry, but he also understood that this was a time when he had to bow his head, and anger meant nothing, on the contrary, it would only do bad things.

Now his identity is no longer the driver who was on the track and could collide with Senna for the championship. It is the founder and owner of a team who must be responsible for the future and development of the team!

So Prost calmed down for a moment, and then said: "Chairman Morris, I know that you have the final right to review, Fei is really a rare potential driver, and he feels that he has reached the standard line of F1. ”

This can also be seen in Fei's winter test results, his speed is in the top 10 of the drivers, and he is the first rookie driver in recent years, surpassing last year's Kimi Raikkonen.

"The results of flying are really good, but many things can't just look at the winter test, F1 is the highest temple of drivers in the world, and we can't allow any driver to lower the level of F1 racing through the back door through special approval."

"As president of the FIA, I should be fair and impartial, so I still have to wait until the council approves it."

After Morris finished speaking, he also glanced at Prost with deep meaning, and his words alluded to the secret operation between Prost and the French president of the FIA.

With such a look, how could Prost not understand that things did take advantage of the relationship between the French compatriots back then. However, in the end, there was not much of a violation in the penalty, and there were good reasons to cancel Senna's results.

It's just that this matter, with the fall of Senna, people's worship and regret for the car god have made the rhetoric one-sided. And Prost's use of relationships is a fact, which is not easy to explain.

"I agree with your idea, but now that the matter is urgent, can the council be convened as soon as possible to approve the super driver's license of Fei again?"

"Now the board members are ......"

Seeing that Morris was still making excuses, Prost interrupted: "Chairman Morris, I hope you understand that Fei is not just a newcomer, he also represents the huge market of F1 in China in the future!" The East China Sea Circuit has been built, Fei is the face of the Chinese Grand Prix, and as the president of the FIA, he should take it as his responsibility to develop Formula 1 events. ”

"If you can't participate in the new season because of your super driver's license, you should know how serious the consequences will be, and even lose the huge market in China!"

"Are you threatening me?"

Morris replied in a bad tone, he mentally agreed with Prost's statement, but did not like the threatening attitude.

"I'm not threatening you, it's a matter of thinking about the future of F1. And now that there is no third driver for the Prost team, if you insist on refusing the super license approval, the Prost team will decide to retire the race in the new season. ”

Prost was also really anxious at this time, and the consequences of letting Bouldis go on hard were not much different from retiring. It is better to use the public opinion caused by the withdrawal to force Morris to make concessions.

Sure enough, after hearing Prost's words, Morris's face became complicated, he looked at Prost for a few seconds, and then relieved: "I will convene a special council tonight, and if it is passed, the super driver's license of the special driver will be flown by the special driver." If there is no pain, this matter will be done according to the rules. ”

"No problem."

Prost agreed, and at the same time, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.

With the title of "Professor", Prost, how could he not be a little prepared, this scene had long been expected by him.

He has already communicated with the council members during the offseason, and as long as Morris Ken relents to convene a special council, then the special approval of the super driver's license is almost a matter of nine times out of ten.