It's fucking real!

Hearing this, Zhang Yifei couldn't help but curse Prost in his heart.

In fact, this is not to blame Prost for being real, because now the team has reached the point of exhaustion, there is not enough money to inject, and it is a question whether or not to participate in next year's F1 season.

After being abandoned by Renault, Prost has approached former F1 driver and Brazilian Diniz, hoping to get investment from him.

However, the conditions offered by Diniz are very harsh, and the investment is fine, but Prost must give 40% of the team's shares in exchange.

This is simply unacceptable for Prost, who has dreamed of building a pure-blooded French team.

Sell almost half of the team's stake now, and if it doesn't improve, what's next, continue to sell the team's shares? At that time, it is uncertain whether the F1 paddock, the Prost team, can still be called by this name.

It's a hard thing for Prost to accept, but it's just a cycle for F1 history.

There are countless teams that have collapsed in the history of F1, even in recent years, those that cannot survive or have been acquired include Lotus, Benetton, Stewart and so on.

Financial difficulties have a tendency to go bankrupt, as well as Sauber, Minardi, and Flying Arrows, plus Prost himself, can almost be said to occupy half of the F1 team.

Prost doesn't want the team he worked so hard to create can't escape bankruptcy or being bought out, which is why he behaves so "real".

Just like Zhang Yifei created a miracle on the track, maybe this Chinese kid can also give himself a big surprise in terms of sponsorship and save the team that is currently on the verge of bankruptcy.

"What kind of sponsorship criteria do you have to meet to get them all to join the team?"

Zhang Yifei wants to let his team members join the F1 team, in addition to selfishly wanting to have a few more familiar people around him, there is also a kind of "public heart" for the development of Chinese motorsports.

From God's point of view, Zhang Yifei knows that even 20 years later, there is not a single F1 driver in China, let alone a professional F1 team. In a sense, it may be many times more difficult to have a professional F1 team than a professional Chinese driver.

Zhang Yifei admits that he does not have this ability, so that China's automobile industry has developed rapidly, and F1-level factory teams have appeared to compete for the crown jewel of the automobile industry. But with a few F1-level team mechanics, he wants to do the best he can, and there's some hope.

Ah Hu and Brother Zhi both have good technical foundations, mainly because of cultural losses. If you can enter the F1 team and learn with the world's top maintenance team, you will definitely be able to break through the current ceiling of domestic race technicians and reach the level of being in line with the world.

This kind of strength may not be much in Europe, but if they can return to China one day, Ah Hu and Brother Zhi can at least become the chief technicians and build a team of top event technicians in China.

You must know that the industrial foundation and the team of technicians are the guarantee for the drivers to gallop on the track. As the saying goes, a spark can start a prairie fire, and with such a spark, who knows if there will be a sudden change in Chinese motorsports in the future?

If you really can't do it, you can buy an F1 team like the later Force India, first "localize" the team of drivers and technicians, and then explore the experience and slowly develop.

Although it is not to the point of "all-Chinese class", at least it has taken the first step, which is better than being a spectator outside the paddock.

You must know that even if it is as strong as Japan and has several world-class car manufacturers, after so many years, there is a Super Ajuri team with a relatively "Japanese" pedigree, and it is still a perennial bottom turn, and it will not take long for it to go out of business.

Therefore, Zhang Yifei's goal is not high, and being able to train a few F1 level technicians at this stage is already the limit of his ability.

Of course, wanting to witness a F1 team belonging to China is just Zhang Yifei's ultimate dream. He no longer has God's perspective to witness how the world is going, because too much has changed.

"At least $2 million, that's my bottom line."

Prost offered a sponsorship price for Ah Hu and them to enter the F1 team, to be honest, this figure was a bit unexpected by Zhang Yifei, not too high, but too low!

Zhang Yifei doesn't know how much the team sponsorship is in this era, but he knows that in 14 years, Marlboro sponsored the Ferrari team, and printed a small advertising logo on the body, and the annual cost was 150 million US dollars!

Even if you count 15 years of inflation, plus the gap between Prost and Scuderia Ferrari, the figure of $2 million is still a staggering gap from $150 million.

After all, no matter how bad the Prost team is, it is also one of the few teams in the world that can compete in the F1 paddock, and the advertising logo on the body can also be seen by hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

Two million US dollars, not to mention the requirement to enter four people, even if there are no additional conditions for sponsorship, it is estimated that many sponsors will give it without hesitation, which is really a "friendly price" that is half sold and half given.

To be honest, the worst plan in Zhang Yifei's heart is to enter two people, that is, to let Ah Hu and Brother Zhi enter the Prost team.

It's not that he favors one over the other, but Junko Takeda and Ukyo Yamamoto, as well as positions in Toyota, have another way out. You can wait until you have established yourself before recruiting them into the tournament team.

But Ah Hu and Brother Zhi have no way out, once they can't enter the F1 team, they can only return to the car repair shop in Guangshen. At that time, their previous efforts will be in vain, and even their English ability, which they have studied hard and can barely converse now, will regress to the starting point.

So Zhang Yifei had no choice but to leave Ah Hu and Brother Zhi.

When Zhang Yifei was planning to make a plate in his heart, in fact, Prost had already thought about it, don't forget that he also has the title of "professor", and careful thinking is his trademark.

You must know that although Zhang Yifei's team members are immature, they are not useless.

Needless to say, Korcel, a member of the strategy team of McLaren, one of the Big Three, and a former colleague of Prost, has undoubted ability.

Even if there is nothing to do with Zhang Yifei, as long as Kossel is willing to join the Prost team, his qualifications and abilities are there, and it is easy to enter the F1 team. Now joining as a member of Zhang Yifei's team is earning for Prost.

Yamamoto Ukyo is not bad, the data analyst of the Toyota Le Mans team, is considered a technical talent, and there is enough capital to enter the F1 team.

As for Junko Takeda, she only worked as an assistant manager of the Le Mans team before, and in this regard, her qualifications are still a little worse. Coupled with the level of Le Mans, which is slightly inferior to Formula 1, and as a woman, it is unrealistic to want to enter the management.

But aside from entering the management, as long as Junko Takeda is willing to become Zhang Yifei's driver assistant, it is also possible to enter the Prost team, which she is fully competent.

The only ones that make Prost a little "disgusted" are Ah Hu and Chen Zhi, but in the face of the sponsorship fee of two million US dollars, this is not a big problem. After all, the technical team of the F1 team is extremely large, and it doesn't matter if there are two more people or two less, it is considered a favor for selling Zhang Yifei.

"No problem, just two million dollars."

Zhang Yifei directly agreed, and he felt that it should not be difficult to sponsor two million US dollars, after all, his title as China's first F1 driver still has a bit of weight.

You must know that now that the domestic Donghai International Circuit is under construction, this will be the first time that China will host a world-class sports event, not the well-known 08 Olympic Games.

If Zhang Yifei remembers correctly, the East China Sea Grand Prix in history in 04 triggered a racing frenzy, and the audience reached 1.46 million people during the entire event, setting a record for the audience of a single sporting event in China.

With this shareholder wind and their own miraculous breakthroughs, some top domestic companies should be willing to sponsor two million US dollars. After all, if you want to advertise this price in other teams, you can't even think about it.

Even if Zhang Yifei's identity as a Chinese driver is put aside, purely from a commercial point of view, it is worth advertising around the world at this price!

"Since it's okay to ask for sponsorship, I'll include your request in the contract supplement."

"I don't know if you plan to sign now, or wait for the supplementary terms of the contract to be drawn up before considering it?"

"You can sign up now."

Zhang Yifei did not hesitate, he himself is a simple and rude character, the contract is generally satisfactory, and he is too lazy to care about some details.

And having said that, this hasn't been sponsored yet, it's a big deal that when the time comes, he will pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other, and he is not afraid of Prost "defaulting" or something.

"It's good, young people just simply."

Prost said with a smile, then handed over a signature pen.

Zhang Yifei took the pen and signed his name on the last page of the contract, from this moment on, his identity will completely change and officially become an F1 driver!

"Congratulations on joining the Prost team!"

Prost saw Zhang Yifei sign his name, and officially stretched out his right hand to him, announcing his welcome to Zhang Yifei to join.

"Thank you, I'm also honored to be a driver for Team Prost."

Zhang Yifei shook hands with Prost, and then politely replied, indeed the Prost team gave himself a chance.

"I'll be holding a press conference in a few days to officially announce your arrival at Prost. When everything is ready, my assistant will send you a detailed arrangement plan. ”

"OK, no problem."

The matter has been finalized, and Prost has no need to continue to stay, just as he was about to go out, he suddenly remembered something, so he turned back to Zhang Yifei and asked.

"By the way, Fei, do you plan to continue Formula Renault?"