Zhang Yifei's refusal was beyond Lauda's expectations. You should know that Zhang Yifei's current results are just winning the Renault branch championship.

Inviting him to become a development driver for the Jaguars is equivalent to helping him skip the F3 level. This is a thing that many Formula Elementary drivers can encounter but are hard to come by. Zhang Yifei refused so simply?

Lauda is not as strong as Ghosn. After all, he is a racer and knows the help of jumping to the first level for new drivers.

Moreover, he was optimistic about Zhang Yifei, thinking that although this kid came from China, his strength was not inferior to that of European players of the same age, and his talent was rare.

"Fei, do you really not think about it?"

"No, sorry Mr. Lauda."

Zhang Yifei is actually a direct person. He told Ghosn to consider it before, which made him regret it a little. Now he will never agree to Lauda to consider it, even if it was mentioned by the other party.

Facing Zhang Yifei's decisive attitude, Lauda showed a disappointed expression on his face. He looked at Zhang Yifei and said, "Can you tell me the reason? To be honest, I don't understand it very much."

For a Chinese newcomer, being able to directly take the Renault Formula and become a development driver for the Jaguars team is definitely a jumping improvement.

Why did Zhang Yifei refuse? Is it because of Cosell that McLaren wants to sign him?

"Actually, the reason is that I have a lot of ambitions and want to become a test driver or a formal driver."

Zhang Yifei didn't hide anything. He really wanted to become a formal driver in F1, even if it was a arrogant ambition at the moment.

But dreams always have to be there, what if they come true one day?

Test driver or official driver? This idea is a bit difficult for Lauda to accept. Although he admires this Chinese newcomer very much, Zhang Yifei did not show the absolute crushing of the Renault event, which is different from Kimi Raikkonen before.

Sometimes it is not necessarily a good thing for young people to be too ambitious.

It is definitely impossible for formal drivers. Although the Jaguars team has just been established, they are not those private small teams. Behind it is the world-class car manufacturer Ford. In terms of strength, it is not behind the current giants in the F1 paddock.

If the test driver is based on Lauda's personality, he is willing to give this young man a chance to see how he performs on the F1 track.

But the problem is that Lauda, ​​the jaguar, is not a decisive boss, but a professional manager.

The decisions that really concern the future direction of the team need to be approved by Ford's board of directors, and it is not the final say he alone.

Moreover, the management of the Jaguars is very chaotic. They think that the American pie led by Ford and the Germanic pie, which is mainly left behind by Stewart, want to control the absolute control of the team.

It is precisely because of the fierce factional struggle within the team that Ford invited Lauda to serve as the team's EO, hoping to use such a "respected" veteran F1 legendary driver to calm down.

Unfortunately, Lauda may be a top driver in the F1 track, and he is not good at commercial struggles. Even the Lauda Airlines he founded himself ended up closing down.

So he did not absolutely control the Jaguars. It would be difficult to make such an exception and would encounter a lot of resistance.

"If you can win the European Cup in Renault, I can give you a test driver contract."

Lauda expressed his current bottom line. Only when Zhang Yifei won the Renault European Cup 2000 will he have the confidence to convince the other management teams.

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Lauda for his attention."

Zhang Yifei replied with a smile, not very excited or enthusiastic in his tone. If he wins the European Cup championship in Renault, he doesn't need the Jaguars contract at all, and there will be much more choices than now.

Even if the Jaguars are now supported by Ford, they are still far from the giant teams on the track, such as Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and others.

If you can only get the test driver status, Zhang Yifei is of course willing to choose a big team. After all, the F1 event is a game of technology and capital, and the big team is much ahead of this aspect.

As for this, there was nothing to say, and Lauda stood up and returned to the crowd in the hall.

He has just come out of the mountain and needs to be familiar with other team management, which is also beneficial to the future development of the team.

At this moment, Cosell walked back and the juice in his hand turned into a glass of whiskey.

He put down his cup and said, "How could Lauda come here?"

"I went to the New North Raceway for a run before. Lauda happened to be in the Jaguar Building in New North and saw me running to North."

"Lauda has a very accurate view of people. So is he coming here to invite you to join the Jaguars?"

"Yes, he was willing to give me a seat for Jaguars to develop drivers, but I refused."

After hearing this, Cosell nodded. Zhang Yifei refused the invitation to Renault's development driver. Even if the Jaguars have Ford behind them, they are far inferior to the current Renault Nissan League.

"But he said that if I can win the European Cup championship in Renault, I can consider making me a test driver for the Jaguars."

"Then did you agree?"

"No, but there is no rejection. Who can tell the future of this kind now?"

After hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Cosell's face. He picked up the wine glass on the table, shook the whiskey in the glass slightly, and then said lightly.

"You don't need to think about the future anymore, because I have negotiated with Prost just now to win the pole position and championship at Manicur Station. He will give you an official F1 driver's seat next season."

"What?"

Zhang Yifei stood up in surprise at this time. Fortunately, the music in the banquet hall and the sounds talked about did not have a big impact.

He looked at Cosel with an incredible look. Isn’t this old German man and Prost old rival? How could he even negotiate the official seat of the F1 driver? What happened just now?

"Don't be surprised, the current operating conditions of the Prost team must choose to give it a try, and they have few choices."

"But this is too exaggerated. Didn't you have a bad relationship with Prost because of a conflict of ideas? Why would he agree to this crazy choice?"

"Sena can reconcile with Prost, what is the conflict between me and him?"

After saying that, Cosell drank the wine glass in his hand and said in a tone of emotion: "He and I are old. After all, when I was young, I once fought for the highest honor together. Maybe he would rather believe me than others."

Listening to Cosel's words of emotion, Zhang Yifei didn't say anything either. This old German man looked like this sentimentality for the first time.

Maybe time has passed, grudges and other things have passed, and the easiest thing people remember is the glorious years they worked together.

"Cosel, I will not let you down, nor will I regret myself. No one can take the pole position and championship from Manicur!

This is Zhang Yifei’s promise to Cosel, and he must accomplish a great miracle!

"Speak with grades."

Kossel ignored Zhang Yifei's bold words, but stood up and walked out of the banquet hall.

For him, the goal of helping Zhang Yifei find the F1 team today has been achieved, and there is no need to continue to stay.

Just as Zhang Yifei thought before, the old German man is indeed not good at socializing.

When Cosel left, Zhang Yifei did not leave with him because he also wanted to show his attitude to Ghosn.

At this moment, the center of the banquet was Ghosn talking to several F1 team bosses. Zhang Yifei did not go over to disturb him, but stood quietly by and waited.

Ghosn was having a happy chat with several F1 bosses. After all, today announced the acquisition of the Benetton team, which was a good day for Renault to return to the F1 paddock after fifteen years.

However, he still saw Zhang Yifei standing aside. When he saw this Chinese boy looking at him, Ghosn knew that he had something to look for him.

So Ghosn said goodbye a few words, then came to Zhang Yifei with a glass of wine, and asked with a condescending attitude: "Why, have you considered it clearly?"

"Well, I've thought it through clearly. I don't join Renault Sports Academy and don't want to be a Renault Development Driver."

Zhang Yifei was very unhappy with this condescending attitude, even if the other party was indeed a superior in terms of identity and status.

Hearing this sentence, Ghoen's expression became a little cold. Zhang Yifei not only refused to be a Renault Development driver, but also refused to join the Renault Sports Academy. This was simply unpretentious and even let down his kindness today.

"very good."

Ghoen spoke out these two words in a bad tone, then turned around and returned to the crowd without saying a word.

For a president of Ghosn's level, Zhang Yifei's agreement or rejection will not have any impact on him.

But today Zhang Yifei chose to refuse. It was equivalent to drawing a clear line with Renault Group for so long. It would be almost impossible for Zhang Yifei to cooperate with Renault in the future.

Unless Zhang Yifei's identity changes greatly, it can bring enough benefits to Renault, because the merchants have no position and they only look at interests.

Ghosn's attitude was as expected by Zhang Yifei, and he simply turned around and left the banquet hall. The so-called driver's identity has no meaning to him now.

When he arrived at the hotel parking lot, Cosel was sitting in the car waiting for Zhang Yifei. He looked at his watch and nodded.

"It's about the same time as I predicted, and I didn't feel like a woman."

"I just want to stumble. Is Ghoen interested in talking to me?"

“Nothing is the best.”

After saying that, Cosell started the car and drove towards the hotel.
Chapter completed!