Zhang Yifei expressed his psychological expectations, and this price should be regarded as sky-high from the perspective of treating domestic "stars". But for the sponsorship fee of an F1 driver, it is definitely the lowest grade.

Because even the most weak sponsored drivers, the endorsement and sponsorship fees they get have to start at least a few million dollars, which is basically the F1 threshold standard.

And Zhang Yifei has absolute confidence that Huaxia Petrochemical can feel that the money is worth it. Advertising on a global scale is not something that can be easily bought for just a million dollars.

"You're so confident, young man."

Tang Qiang looked at Zhang Yifei and said this with a playful smile on his face, he didn't mean to be sarcastic, this was his true thought in his heart.

Because Zhang Yifei's bargaining is not the kind of person who blindly wants to take more money to raise his status, but the young man in front of him, he really thinks that he is worth the price.

"If you don't have confidence, you can't be an F1 driver."

Zhang Yifei also replied with a smile, a top driver's self-confidence is the foundation, and he doesn't even have the confidence to be worth millions of dollars, so he is embarrassed to enter the money-burning paddock of F1?

"But your current results don't give Huaxia Petrochemical enough confidence, can you understand this?"

Tang Qiang didn't want to hit the confidence of the young man in front of him, but the fact is that he was not qualified to get a million-dollar endorsement before he entered the F1 paddock and really achieved results.

"If I can get a result in the F1 paddock, maybe the driver endorsement fee will be more than a million dollars, right?"

Zhang Yifei also replied-for-tat, he believed that Tang Qiang could become the vice president of Huaxia Petrochemical subsidiary, and there was absolutely no problem in business vision.

If Zhang Yifei can achieve results in the F1 paddock, he doesn't need the level of top drivers, as long as he can win the sub-station championship and enter the middle and upper class level of F1 drivers.

With his status as a Chinese driver, and with such a huge domestic market behind him, it is foreseeable that his future influence will be amazing.

Just think about Liu Xiang and Yao Ming in later generations, they are also athletes who have made breakthroughs in their respective fields, and eventually they have become national-level superstars.

Because the country needs such top athletes to spread influence and export culture in the world. In the same way, the general public needs an idol to be worshipped, and if a Chinese driver can conquer the F1 track, it will definitely cause a phenomenal sensation.

After all, it is no exaggeration to say that F1's current influence and commercial value in the world are far from being comparable to the 100-meter hurdles, and even the NBA is slightly inferior.

Because Formula 1 sports represent the pinnacle of the current automotive industry, it is also the crown jewel of motorsports. And F1 drivers also represent the most accurate control of speed and limits in the world.

Even professionally, F1 has reached the extreme of human racing at present. From a simple pit stop to change tires, you can see how delicate the professional division of labor and teamwork are required to achieve the second as the unit of time.

Suffice it to say, F1 is the epitome of human technology, courage and team spirit!

It is precisely because of the influence and commercial value of F1 racing in the world that Zhang Yifei is destined to become a hotter superstar than Liu Xiang and Yao Ming if he runs out of results. Moreover, Zhang Yifei, like Yao Ming, both participated in foreign competitions, so naturally the endorsement fee cannot be calculated in RMB.

So a million dollars is really not much for an F1 driver like Zhang Yifei. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a Chinese company, and now he was looking for himself to endorse him, it would also be a bit of a charcoal in the snow, otherwise Zhang Yifei's asking price would have doubled.

Faced with Zhang Yifei's rhetorical question, Tang Qiang did not deny it, because he knew that Zhang Yifei's asking price was not high.

However, Huaxia Petrochemical Group, which is participating in F1 sponsorship for the first time, does not have a clear understanding of many offers. Therefore, their budget for Zhang Yifei's endorsement fee is not high, and it is completely set according to the standards of domestic stars.

"$800,000 a year, that's the limit I can commit."

Tang Qiang finally said his bottom-line price, and even if it is $800,000 a year, it still needs to be submitted to the negotiation team for approval. You must know that the upper limit of the budget of the previous spokesperson of Huaxia Petrochemical was only 500,000 US dollars.

800,000 US dollars, to be honest, there is still a gap between this number and Zhang Yifei's psychological bottom line. However, the other party is now willing to sign once a year, and Zhang Yifei needs money to maintain the vacuum period before the sponsorship.

So he didn't hesitate too much, nodded and replied: "I can accept it, but I need to sign the spokesperson agreement as soon as possible." ”

After this race, there will be a major overhaul of the Renault car, which will require a direct replacement of the track engine, which will be a significant expense. Zhang Yifei roughly budgeted for the cost of post-game repairs, which may be between $5 and $100,000, depending on the number of parts to be replaced.

And Junko Takeda and they have officially resigned, and Zhang Yifei will bear their salary this month. With the education and ability of the two of them, according to the current salary standards of developed countries in Europe, they will get at least $5,000 per month, and it may be more.

As for Kossel, a professor at the Technical University of Berlin, a doctor of aerodynamics, and a member of McLaren's strategy team, it is no problem to take out a monthly salary of tens of thousands. In other words, no matter how much Zhang Yifei "picks", it is impossible to give Kossel a salary of less than $10,000.

Even if you don't count Ah Hu and Brother Zhi, Zhang Yifei will spend at least $20,000 on salary. You must know that Zhang Yifei is now fully worth only six or seven hundred thousand yuan, and he has to bear the food, clothing, housing and transportation of his team members, and the financial pressure is really great.

"Now the business negotiations between Huaxia Petrochemical and F1 Co., Ltd. have reached a critical period, and it is not surprising that an agreement on title and sponsorship will be reached in the next few days."

"We're going to have a press conference to announce our sponsorship of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. At the same time, at the press conference, the driver ambassador program will be announced. Therefore, all aspects of preparation should be completed, and the contract should be completed within half a month. ”

Zhang Yifei knows the efficiency of state-owned enterprises at certain times, and after reviewing them layer by layer, he can get the endorsement plan in half a month, which is already a good speed.

So he didn't ask too much, and directly agreed: "No problem, I look forward to the good news from President Tang." ”

"Then I wish us a happy cooperation in advance."

"It's a pleasure to work with."

……

After Zhang Yifei and Tang Qiang reached a preliminary verbal agreement, they left the Huaxia Petrochemical Building and prepared to return to the hotel where they were staying with He Lang.

After walking out of the building, He Lang looked at Zhang Yifei and said in an apologetic tone.

"Yifei, I didn't expect Huaxia Petrochemical's offer to be so low, otherwise I wouldn't have considered them."

He Lang is a professional driver training received by Citroen in the United Kingdom, and he still has a good understanding of the amount of money required for F1 advertising sponsorship.

He introduced Zhang Yifei purely out of kindness, but he didn't expect the price of Huaxia Petrochemical to be so low. at

In He Lang's view, the reason why Zhang Yifei agreed so "refreshingly" must have his own relationship.

After all, he was the one who was the one who took the bridge, and Zhang Yifei couldn't pull down his face to refuse, so he had to accept this "basic salary" endorsement fee.

Looking at He Lang's slightly self-blaming appearance, Zhang Yifei couldn't cry or laugh a little, at least it was 800,000 US dollars, a little less, but at least it could help him get through the shortage of funds.

For the current Zhang Yifei, it is a happy thing to be able to easily get an endorsement contract of 800,000 US dollars, what does He Lang have to blame and apologize for?

Tang Qiang is right in one sentence, that is, before he runs out of results, sponsors and advertisers will choose to hesitate. Maybe after a while, I will run some results on the F1 track, and the endorsement fee or something will have to be at least doubled.

But the problem is that there is still half a year before the F1 event next year, and I will drink the northwest wind during this time.

"It's okay, I can accept it, I need this money now, thank you."

"Are you short of money, if so, I can lend you."

He Lang did not investigate Zhang Yifei's background information like Huaxia Petrochemical, so he didn't know about Toyota's withdrawal of sponsorship, after all, Toyota didn't engage in fanfare.

"No, I got it, and then again, didn't it cost $800,000 just now?

Zhang Yifei replied with a smile, he could still hold on for half a month.

After a few small talks, I called a car back to the hotel, and it was close to nine o'clock in the evening.

He Ziling and Lin Wei'an did not sleep, but waited for He Lang and Zhang Yifei to come back.

Zhang Yifei said about the sponsorship, but it was only a general brush. After all, Huaxia Petrochemical's sponsorship still needs the unanimous approval of the negotiation team, although it can be said that it is nine times out of ten, as long as they have a little business vision, they will understand the benefits of this sponsorship.

But after all, there is no definite thing, and it is not Zhang Yifei's character to boast about Haikou too early.

That night, Zhang Yifei stayed in the London hotel to rest. Early the next morning, he and He Ziling said goodbye to He Lang and returned to Northampton.

Because there are only two days left before the start of the Silverstone Circuit, Zhang Yifei needs to hurry. And the track analysis map given by Cosell, Zhang Yifei has not yet remembered that the melon is ripe, if there is a real mistake, you can imagine how the old man in Germany will be mad!

Back in Northampton, Zhang Yifei told Junko Takeda about the sponsorship, and when the time comes, she will be solely responsible for negotiating and signing the contract.

After all, it is impossible to give a team manager position to the Prost team, so Junko Takeda's future career is Zhang Yifei's assistant, and she may also serve as an agent. In addition, Junko Takeda herself is from Toyota's public relations department, so it is perfect for these things to be handed over to her.

Two days passed quickly, and finally came the day of the battle at Silverstone, and this time the number of spectators at Silverstone was more than the previous stops, reaching a staggering 20,000 figures.

Most of the extra spectators are Zhang Yifei's supporters, even if they are standing in the pit station and waiting, Zhang Yifei can see the eye-catching red in the audience.

Because today is Zhang Yifei's first professional event officially announced as an F1 driver, many overseas Chinese and Chinese tourists in Europe have come to the track, wanting to witness the strength of China's first F1 driver, and at the same time express their support for Zhang Yifei!