It's the weekend, and today's Albert Park circuit can be said to be the most lively day, and the adjectives such as crowds, crowds, and voices are not too much.

All the stands are full at the moment, even the open spaces such as the lawn on the side of the stadium are already full of fans and spectators.

The grandeur of the opening race, coupled with the fermentation of various reports, and the emergence of dark horse newcomers, make this year's F1 season even more fresh and explosive.

But before the race, there's a much-anticipated parade of F1 drivers. It's a way for drivers to interact with each other and pay tribute to the fans of the host country, similar to the kind of fan feedback that comes with a driver meet-and-greet.

Compared to the pre-race F1 driver meeting, the driver parade is obviously more formal and grand, more like a carnival on the track!

At 12 o'clock at noon, the start time of the drivers' parade, about 11 o'clock, Zhang Yifei and the team members had already come to the P room of the team and began to make pre-race preparations.

At 11:50, ten minutes before the drivers' parade, Zhang Yifei, Alessi and Prost got up and set off from the drivers' lounge and headed to the drivers' gathering area on the track.

To be honest, from the first meeting in the winter testing stage, coupled with those historical impressions in his memory, Zhang Yifei is actually not unfamiliar with the other team drivers present.

But for various reasons, Zhang Yifei basically did not have any communication with other drivers except for Yang Long, and he was still in a familiar state. Even the most well-known Schumacher, Zhang Yifei didn't have a chance to say hello to him.

After all, in different teams and maintenance stations, there is no special reason, Zhang Yifei is always impossible to carry small gifts and visit one by one, right?

Of course, this is only for newcomers like Zhang Yifei, veteran drivers have traveled through several teams, experienced various parades, backstage lounges, and interview meetings, and are much more familiar with each other.

Take Alessi, for example, he has been in Tyrrell, Ferrari, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and many other teams, and it is a bit difficult to know the drivers of other teams.

When Zhang Yifei and a few people walked out of the safe passage, there were already cheers and whistles outside. The audience and fans at the scene used various ways to express their inner excitement and fanaticism.

At this moment, a small space has been fenced off in an open space on the track to stop these fanatical fans from doing something drastic. Many of the participating drivers and team leaders have gathered here to greet each other and something.

Zhang Yifei, Alessi and Prost also came to the crowd, Alessi's more than ten years of track experience, so he has a lot of familiar drivers, so it is easy to integrate into it.

Not to mention Prost, as a legendary driver on the track and now the owner of the team, he can be called a bigwig, and he is naturally constantly greeted.

The only thing that seemed a little embarrassed and cold was Zhang Yifei. He is very familiar with and understands the drivers present today, but the problem is that Zhang Yifei's so-called understanding is one-sided and has very complicated reasons.

The other drivers had no friendship with Zhang Yifei, and they probably hadn't even heard of the Chinese newcomer's name before he entered F1. In addition, Zhang Yifei entered F1 by completing the miracle of "triple jump", which led to him in the F1 driver circle, without any acquaintances who had ever competed in the same field.

If Zhang Yifei had experienced F3 and F3000 events step by step, he might be able to talk and laugh with Kubica, Massa and others on the field today. Although we are opponents and have had some unpleasant experiences, in the F1 paddock, we are considered newcomers who know each other well, at least they are not so strangers.

Because he was unfamiliar with it, and Zhang Yifei's own personality did not have any "courtesan" attributes, he could only stand in place with a little embarrassment, not knowing whether to take the initiative to go over to say hello or do something else.

Zhang Yifei did not take the initiative to go over to say hello, and the other drivers talked happily, ignoring Zhang Yifei's existence.

There is an element of alienation to this disregard, but there is also a hidden isolation!

Because of Zhang Yifei's identity as a Chinese driver, because of the arrogant words he once made, and even because of his radical style of not admitting defeat on the track, it is not in line with the cautious, low-key and forbearant flattering character of Chinese in the hearts of many drivers.

As the first black driver in F1 history, Hamilton has been isolated by other drivers because of his skin color and his tough racing style.

In the F1 season of '07 and '08, during the drivers' parade, you can see more than once that when Hamilton walked out of the security lane, no driver greeted him.

Even standing on top of the float, there is a clear scene, Hamilton standing alone, and occasionally his friend, Suthir from the Indian Power, talks to him.

In an interview with reporters that year, Hamilton clenched his fists and said: "All I can express is that I will improve next time." If everyone is still unhappy, then I can't help it. ”

"But things like this don't, they make me stronger. The most important thing I learned is how to build confidence in the wind and rain and turn grief and anger into strength! ”

History has shown that strength is all about the track, and Hamilton responded to the doubts and isolation with the title of the youngest F1 champion in history, making him one of the most popular drivers.

When Zhang Yifei saw these reports, he was more of a mentality of reading biographies, and he didn't expect that one day, he would empathize.

But Zhang Yifei is not good at concluding that others are really deliberately isolating themselves because of their identity as a Chinese driver, or some radical remarks and actions on the track, in case they are really embarrassed to say hello just because they are unfamiliar?

However, Zhang Yifei soon saw that the newcomers Montoya, Bernaldi and others who appeared later were welcomed by other drivers, which was also an expression of the newcomers' entry.

He instantly understood, maybe this really had nothing to do with strangeness, and instantly a wry smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Yifei's mouth. It seems that his F1 career is really a long way to go!

"Verstappen, this is the new person in our team this year, get to know each other."

Alessi's voice sounded from the side, and he brought Toyota driver Joss Verstappen to Zhang Yifei and took the initiative to introduce the two sides.

Joss Verstappen, the father of Max Verstappen of the Red Bull Racing team, did not have any special achievements in F1 and played for some mid-to-lower teams.

But he gave birth to a good son, inherited his F1 career, and also created the famous nickname "Second Generation".

“hello。”

The sudden appearance of Alessi and Verstappen surprised Zhang Yifei, and he hurriedly stretched out his hand to greet the other party.

Verstappen looked at Zhang Yifei with a smile, shook hands and said, "Your performance in qualifying is very good, you deserve the title of super newcomer, even Alessi praised you to me just now." ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yifei looked at Alessi with some surprise, but the French veteran just turned his head to the side, as if he didn't see Zhang Yifei's surprised expression.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yifei instantly understood that Alessi saw that he was isolated, so he took the initiative to bring someone over to solve the siege, and even praised himself to other drivers.

To be honest, Zhang Yifei was a little moved in his heart, maybe this is the French veteran, who helped and helped his "junior" of the team.

"Thanks, but I'm still far from being a super newcomer."

Zhang Yifei modestly replied, he belongs to the kind of person who eats soft and does not eat hard, the more he ridicules and looks down, the more arrogant and arrogant Zhang Yifei becomes.

On the contrary, the other party is willing to look at it fairly and objectively, and even say some polite words. Zhang Yifei was very modest, and he couldn't see the image in front of the media at all.

"I'm not polite, but you have this potential, come on."

"Work together."

After a few polite words, the short assembly time was over and the riders began to step onto the red carpet to the floats parading along the track.

In the case of a set, the F1 driver parade is on the track, but there are some special cases, such as the UK parade in Trafalgar Square in London, so the location is not fixed and static.

The drivers began to walk the red carpet, flanked by race car girls and placard staff. When they saw the riders approaching, they began to applaud and cheer, and some even stretched out their palms to give high-fives to the riders who passed by.

Zhang Yifei walked on this red carpet alone, and he did not feel depressed because of his previous isolation.

On the contrary, he looked at everything around him with interest, which was completely unfamiliar and novel to Zhang Yifei, after all, it was the first time he had experienced this kind of driver parade, which was very similar to the feeling of the championship parade of some teams in later generations.

Just as Zhang Yifei was looking at everything around him, there was a man in a red T-shirt next to him, and the galloping horse shield logo on his chest represented the identity of the Ferrari team.

Zhang Yifei subconsciously looked to the side and saw a familiar face, but he had a very unreal feeling, because this man was the Ferrari driver - Michael Schumacher.

"The psychological quality is very good."

Schumacher walked beside Zhang Yifei and said to him, he naturally saw the other drivers, and Zhang Yifei was isolated intentionally or unintentionally.

But what surprised him was that it was this newcomer from China who was not affected by anything, and was still interested in looking at everything around him with curiosity.

Not to mention anything else, this psychological quality really surpassed many newcomers he had seen, so he walked to Zhang Yifei's side and praised him.