Chapter 243: A Difficult Start (6)
The explosive news that was used to threaten Ye Feng was soon known through everyone. However, this time it was Tyson's solemn words at the press conference. Just when everyone was still focusing on Ferrari, which had been underperforming this season, the news that BMW announced the termination of its partnership with Williams and the acquisition of Sauber Racing in favor of the new BMW-Sauber team soon swept through the F1 world like a thermal bomb. Almost all of the subjects have become Williams, a veteran team with a glorious history......
There is no doubt that even the average racing fan understands what it really means for BMW to leave the troubled Williams team at this time. Without free engines for next season, no huge unpaid sponsorships, and no convincing results to support a new round of negotiations, the Williams team went from aristocrats to outcasts overnight. Within 48 hours after BMW announced its withdrawal, it was not surprising that several major sponsors of Williams had also announced their switch to BMW-Sauber next season, continuing to follow BMW.:>. Several commercial loans that Seria Sr. was negotiating also announced the collapse of the fastest speed. The evil consequences of not having a wind tunnel have been clearly reflected in the cars driven by Ye Feng and Massa in the previous races. Now, even the most die-hard Williams fans are probably putting a question mark over the future of this team!
At this time, some good things in the media have resurfaced the picture of the original Williams fans who would rather demonstrate than Ye Feng stay. The meaning is also very clear in the comments of these media outlets. That is, the Chinese driver made a mistake that most young people will make. That is, they cannot judge the situation and are prone to impulsiveness. If Ye Feng could have predicted that the convoy would be like this, I'm afraid he should have the heart to cry now, right? Take a look at Alonso's record by choosing Renault and owning a highly competitive vehicle. Looking at Ye Feng's fate at this time, which has to accept that he will be lost with the team, it is not difficult to see how much a good team plays a role in a young driver. Alonso seized his own opportunity, while Ye Feng had to pay the price of his choice, perhaps silent. In addition, Brazilian driver Massa, who had complained about the team's car in previous races, is now also a target of media pursuit, and everyone wants to know what kind of attitude a guy who is already very dissatisfied with the team will have after such a big crisis in the Williams team.
In a word. The current Williams team is really on the verge of being extremely dangerous, and it seems that everything is going in a direction that is not going against it......
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As if to validate people's pessimistic predictions about the future of Williams, the British team continued its extremely sluggish form in the European Grand Prix after BMW's withdrawal from the European Grand Prix. Before the race, the old Williams's vow finally became a joke in the two drivers who only scored three points from Massa, and Ye Feng's poor record of scoring one point in four consecutive races also lowered everyone's hopes for the Chinese driver to the lowest point. If it weren't for the fact that the defending champions Ferrari had performed worse than Williams in these races, the British would not have even been able to find a reason to console themselves....
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As usual, Petrus drove his miniature to the team's base camp early. The sky was still falling with a little rain, and the heart of this British guy was indeed as full of grief and helplessness as the weather at this time. As someone who loves Williams and has dedicated his 8 years of youth to his love of the team, perhaps no one is sadder than Petrus to see the team in such a desperate situation.
And what made Pete even more sad was that his good friend Ye Feng had the opportunity to leave this bad environment and join the powerful Ferrari or other teams. And it is precisely because of the resolute retention of him and other Williams fans that Ye Feng is in such a slump. If Ye Feng, as a young genius, fell to Williams at one time. Then Petrus felt that he was really sorry for his old friend. And what made him feel even more guilty were the very heartless words he said to Ye Feng that time......
"Hey! Peter! Why are you kid dragging a horse's face early in the morning? Was it dumped by your girlfriend last night? Or did you lose all your money yesterday? Just when Petrus was thinking about the debt to Ye Feng in his heart, he parked the car in silence and walked to the workshop in the rain, an umbrella suddenly appeared above his head, and then an unusually familiar voice sounded immediately. The British guy turned his head to look. Unsurprisingly, Ye Feng was smiling at him with a relaxed face.
"Leaf! ...... Why are you still giggling at this time? Don't you worry about the fate of the team and yourself? Alas! Maybe you chose to leave! Otherwise, it wouldn't be as passive as it is now! Suddenly seeing the person he owed in his heart, Petrus was a little stunned for a while. After coming back to his senses, he said to Ye Feng, who had failed to score points for two consecutive stops, with some confusion. In the eyes of the British guys, even if they are happy. Ye Feng shouldn't have been so relaxed at this time.
"Hey! What else should I do? Isn't it just that BMW has withdrawn? Withdraw, withdraw! What's the big deal? Wouldn't this world have turned away from BMW? Do we need to be so lost? Ye Feng naturally knew what his friend was referring to. However, at this time, Lao Ye didn't seem to be affected by this incident at all, and said with a smile. Petrus stared at the side.
"This ...... But...... Leaf! Don't you worry about your future? Ferrari isn't playing well now, but if you were to go there it would be better than it is now, right? Now the team has no engine for next year. And I don't even know where to find the sponsorship funds for the next few years! Alas! If we hadn't insisted on letting you transfer! I saw that my friend was still "comforting" him as a little technician at this time. As he spoke, Petrus felt very uncomfortable.
"You guy! That's it! Cheer up! Old man Frank may have good news to announce in a moment! Seeing that Petrus was still so depressed, Ye Feng patted this guy on the shoulder and said this, then ignored the other party and walked straight towards the team office area......
Looking at the cheers of everyone in the team at this time. Old Williams really had mixed feelings. As Ye Feng said to Petrus, the old Williams just now brought to everyone in the team is indeed one of the few good news in the recent difficult period - that is, the large amount of money needed for the team's wind tunnel maintenance has finally been settled, and this maintenance work has actually begun to be implemented when BMW announced its withdrawal from the Williams team, and has achieved very great results so far. It is expected that it will not be long before the fleet will be able to fully calibrate the new FW-27 in the wind tunnel and road tests. If they are lucky, Ye Feng and Massa can also make their first appearance in the FW-27 at the next San Marino Grand Prix, and not to mention what the future holds for the team, at least after a difficult start to the season, everyone has renewed hope of a good result for the team this season......
Now, the elder Williams really couldn't contain his complicated feelings and burst into tears, but he still tried his best to suppress his feelings to maintain his demeanor. In the decades since the establishment of this team, there has been a lot of wind and rain, and what has old Williams not seen? But now he feels that it is the most difficult hurdle for him to overcome. When the whole convoy is filled with despair and confusion. When all the people of the earth have departed from him. At one point, Serena Williams even felt it was time for him to leave racing.
However, it was at this time that Ye Feng walked out from behind him. It was Ye Feng who told him everything that would happen in the future. To be honest, when Ye Feng told him that day that BMW would soon announce that it would withdraw to form its own factory team, Old Williams couldn't believe that an ally he had worked with for so long would leave so suddenly. And when he reprimanded Ye Feng in anger. The Chinese boy was even able to maintain restraint and clearly laid out the various situations that would arise after the withdrawal of BMW, and gave his own emergency response plan one by one.
There is no BMW, and there are Ford and Cosworth. There are no main sponsors, and there are emerging giants such as Lenovo and Sinopec from China. There are no European banks that will provide funds to repair wind tunnels, and there are also Asia, where Ye Feng can also find bankers who are willing to pay......
When Ye Feng said all this one by one. For the first time in his life, Serena Williams was completely shocked by a hairy boy. The shock was followed by a heartfelt convincing. Where is this still a young driver? Judging from all the signs, Ye Feng obviously resolutely chose the Williams team and resolutely chose to stay when he knew everything. Serena Williams remembers that he was really impressed and moved by the young man across from him who had been putting himself in his shoes and thinking about the team. By that time, Serena Williams knew he no longer had any reason to doubt anything the lad across from him said. And he was no longer at a loss for all the events that would have happened in the future that would have dealt him a huge blow. Because in the eyes of the young man opposite, he saw the determination to withstand all the pressure.
So later, when the outside world was shocked by BMW's sudden decision, in fact, the senior management of the Williams team was methodically carrying out their own predetermined countermeasures. And at this time. It was not just Old Williams who was shocked by Ye Feng, but also the top management of all Williams teams. They were amazed at the young partner's foresight and accuracy, as well as the effectiveness of the emergency response plan he developed.
So, soon after Serena Williams and several team executives were willing to pledge some of their valuable property, and Ye Feng used the two teams as a guarantee, a bank in Malaysia was very happy to provide Williams Racing with a huge amount of money needed for their wind tunnel maintenance. In the subsequent negotiations with Lenovo and Sinopec, Ye Feng and Serena Williams have also made concessions to a large extent to attract the favor of these two Chinese companies, and it can be said that there is only one step left before signing the contract. In addition, at this time, the early contact between Ye Feng and Ford and Cosworth also played an important role at this time, with the preliminary work has been completed ahead of schedule, with the team's senior management officially involved in the negotiations with the two engine suppliers, the solution of the engine supply problem of Williams Racing next season is actually only a matter of time......
It was originally such a serious blow but was dissipated by Ye Feng in advance, how could this not make Old Williams and the entire team management not feel happy and emotional? So when Old Williams, who had mixed feelings at this time, once again turned his gaze towards Ye Feng, who was thinking not far away, the old man could no longer hold back his excitement and gratitude to Ye Feng at this time and took Lao Ye's hand, and tears couldn't help but flow......
"Leaf! I really don't know how to thank you! If it weren't for you, our fleet might have gone out of business this time! A few months ago, I was even struggling with whether or not to keep you. It seems that I am really stupid, maybe it is time for retirement! At this time, Old Williams said while holding Ye Feng's hand while crying.
"Huh! Don't say that, Frank. I've already said that since I've stayed here, we're all grasshoppers on a rope and no one can escape. So in fact, all this I did was for my own sake. Moreover, I really don't believe that the world will really be brilliant without them! Lao Ye, who was so excited by the British old man and was thinking about some new car improvements, suddenly said a little helplessly. At this time, Lao Ye's eyes caught a glimpse of a figure who was a little lonely and lonely at this time, so he turned around and continued to say to Old Williams:
"Hey, Frank, we're not going to talk about more! But there's one thing I ask you to promise me! That is, even if we get through this time, don't have any trouble with Felipe's previous words and deeds! As a driver, I understand how he feels, Frank, and I have to say that you sometimes care too little about drivers, especially young drivers! You see, what other team is going to have their official drivers stay in hotels? So, it's only natural that Felipe has some complaints about the status quo given the lack of competitiveness in the car! Anyway, I hope you can communicate more, and I hope we can work together in the next games! Let those who have abandoned their allies see how great we are! ”