The report from Sports Illustrated was published at an astonishingly fast pace, and was published in the Americas the day after the interview ended.

The cover photo they selected was not a promotional photo organized by Zhang Yifei in F1, but a scene where Zhang Yifei ran in the rain and rushed to the post-match interview area after the Malaysian Grand Prix.

This scene has also become a classic moment in the Malaysian Grand Prix, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will become a historic scene of F1.

At the same time, the cover of Sports Illustrated is marked with a sentence in big bold.

"The Chinese Newcomer Challenging Schumacher"

The interview team of "Sports Illustrated" gave up the idea of ​​initially creating a conflict between Zhang Yifei and Barrichello, and instead seized the words Zhang Yifei would not be afraid of any opponents and directly pointed his finger at Schumacher, the strongest man on the current F1 track.

There is no doubt that such directed reports have brought amazing popularity and topic discussion. With the Brazilian Grand Prix, the sales volume of Sports Illustrated in the entire America region exceeded 5 million copies in a single day, which once resulted in outsells.

You should know that this is already Time Warner. It predicts that the number of publications after the pre-match popularity has been added. Under normal circumstances, there are only about 3 million subscribers of Sports Illustrated, and printing 5 million copies per day is more than enough.

It has to be said that the popularity of Chinese boys is beyond the imagination of many European and American people. Even if there is a factor of "striking" Schumacher, if Zhang Yifei is really so unbearable, it will be useless to mess around. After all, the elephant will not stop because of the provocation of ants.

At the same time, this also illustrates another phenomenon, that is, although many car fans in European and American countries do not support Zhang Yifei, they even look at Chinese drivers with a traditional sense of superiority.

However, Zhang Yifei used his record to increase his attention rapidly. Whether it is support or ridicule, most people couldn't help but wonder where the limit for this Chinese newcomer was, and what kind of storm he could cause in the F1 paddock.

Perhaps Zhang Yifei, in the European and American worlds, can be described in the words of later generations, which is "black and red".

Since it was black and red, after the cover and content of Sports Illustrated were reported, it caused even more contempt and ridicule of Zhang Yifei. Countless audiences and car fans in the Americas made their voices through various platforms, which was infuriated for a moment.

"The Chinese are also worthy of challenging Schumacher? Is Sports Illustrated's brains getting into trouble? Interviewing this kind of rookie and making him the cover character?"

"Asian drivers who have never seen the world, they won a third place in the branch. They really regarded themselves as the championship. Do they know how cheap it is to be the third place in the branch?"

"Challenging Schumacher is the biggest joke I have heard this year, and Chinese newcomers are worthy of it?"

"The Chinese seem to have provoked Barrichello at the last stop. This stop is Brazil's Interlagues Circuit. Thinking about the people in Brazil's slums, the Chinese are afraid they don't want to walk out of the track alive."

When these public opinions came overwhelmingly, all members of Prost, including Zhang Yifei, were a little shocked!

To be honest, this kind of pre-race explosion of public opinion was something that no one had ever imagined. After all, Zhang Yifei was a Chinese driver, and then started with the European Formula, and his career had little to do with the Americas.

In addition, America also has its own set of equations, which is the Indy Series. Theoretically, in addition to Senna, Schumacher, a F1 driver who is absolutely peak, can make his name in the Americas, and the popularity of others is more than just a little less, let alone Asian newcomers in the F1 track.

Unexpectedly, the interview with Sports Illustrated triggered such an explosion of public opinion, making Zhang Yifei the most popular motorist in the Americas.

However, this kind of hotness has little positive impact, but the negative effects are particularly prominent. Even some local Brazilian gangs have pleaded for helping Barrichello teach this arrogant Chinese boy a lesson.

This kind of news also turned the Prost team, which was previously excited about Zhang Yifei's popularity, into a worry, and the heat seemed to be too hot, which felt like it was burning.

In the lounge of the Prost fleet repair station, the main members of the fleet gathered here, with more than a dozen newspapers placed on the table, almost all about Zhang Yifei.

Under normal circumstances, Prost would probably have a smile. Only the Big Three teams can create such popular drivers. The sponsorship income of influence conversion may not be considered for a year or two.

But this time, Prost's expression on his face was very serious, mainly because Brazil is too messy. Car fans in other places are most ridiculous, and the gangsters in South America are really good at taking action!

"The report results of the Sports Illustrated report are a bit beyond our previous expectations. Now the outside world has a loud attack on Fei, and some Brazilian gangs even threatened death."

"No matter whether this threat is true or false, we cannot take it lightly. We must ensure absolute safety when flying on the Interlagers track."

Team leader Henry first said the tone of this discussion, that is, don’t care about ridicule or anything else. Zhang Yifei’s safety is the most important thing. For Prost team, Zhang Yifei is the future and hope of the team.

Hearing Henry's warning, the members of the team were all in thought. Ah Hu said in the first place, "I followed Brother Fei 24 hours a day during this period. Whoever wants to be bad for him must pass this level first!"

"Brazilian gangs are not fighting. You don't have bodyguard experience, so it's not very effective to follow them for 24 hours."

Henry explained to Ah Hu, you should know that the assassination of sports in South America was "popular" in the 1990s.

The most famous one is the Colombian football assassination, which has assassinated more than 30 football players over the past 20 years. Even the captain of the Colombian national team was shot and killed by the dissatisfied Colombian football betting group after playing the World Cup.

Hearing this, Ah Hu was also silent. As he saw more and more foreign experiences, he gradually lost his recklessness. This is not the stable social environment in China. Many slums in Brazil have the nickname "City of God", which means that even God has abandoned it.

The smuggling and proliferation of drugs and arms is often not something that can be protected by bare hands.

Seeing the situation moving towards tension, Prost said at this time, "Flying safety is very important, but there is no need to be so nervous now. I received a lot of death threats from Brazil. Are you standing here well now?"

Prost even had a smile on his face when he said this. As the boss, he had to stand up and calm everyone's emotions.

Prost said it is true. When he joined hands with the French president of F1 and hacked Senna's title, the death threat was much more serious than it is now.

However, the threat is the threat. After all, the technology content of f1 racing is too high. Various gambling groups want to control it, but it is not as simple as other sports.

Without direct conflicts of interest, so-called dissatisfaction and threats would not have enough motivation. As Senna reconciled with Prost, the death threats of that year were left unresolved.

Zhang Yifei just made a few harsh words with Barrichello after the game. This is a very common thing to put in the f1 yard. If it weren't for the fact that he was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, no one would have taken this kind of thing to heart.

"Prost is right. There are fanatical fans everywhere, but only interests are the root of the conflict. Just be careful during this period. There is no need to do anything to do, which will affect the situation of tomorrow's competition."

Cosel stood up and said, he was also a witness of the conflict between Senna and Prost back then, so he naturally knew these past events.

Threat exists, but for a professional driver, you must not be competitive because of this threat.

Any driver will experience all kinds of external pressures in his career, and whether he can withstand this pressure is the watershed of his professional achievements.

Prost also nodded and agreed, "Tomorrow is the time for the practice match. We cannot affect Fei's game status because of this."

After saying that, Prost looked at Zhang Yifei and said, "Fei, don't worry too much. I will contact Diniz. During the Brazil Grand Prix, hire a group of professional bodyguards to ensure your safety and play with peace of mind."

"Am I so timid?"

Zhang Yifei couldn't help but smile and said, looking at the serious atmosphere of the convoy members, it felt like a gunman was about to come. Now it was just a threat from rumors, and the convoy members were even more nervous than themselves.

To be honest, when answering the exclusive interview question of Sports Illustrated, Zhang Yifei had already predicted that it would cause heated discussions, just like before being interviewed by media in Europe.

But this time the popularity was indeed a bit beyond Zhang Yifei's imagination. He didn't realize that so many people were paying attention to him in the Americas. As for the Brazilians who felt that he had provoked Barrichello and the warnings and threats he issued were even more unexpected.

In fact, what Zhang Yifei didn't know was that before he made harsh words to Barrichello, he had already "offended" the supporters of Colombian superstar Montoya in the Americas.

You should know that Montoya is equivalent to Senna's status in Brazil. Zhang Yifei's various fancy "humiliation" of the Indy champions on the track has long dissatisfied Colombian car fans, and also laid the foundation for his popularity in the Americas. The exclusive interview of Sports Illustrated is just a fuse.

The rise of a newcomer in the car industry will inevitably challenge the old order, not to mention that Zhang Yifei is still a driver from Asia, and more people are dissatisfied with him.
Chapter completed!