There have been 776 drivers in the 74-year history of the Formula One World Championship, but the sport had never had a Chinese racer until the arrival of Zhou Guanyu.
After getting his chance in 2022, the Kick Sauber (formerly Alfa Romeo) driver has blazed a trail for his nation across three seasons in F1, even if he had to wait to achieve his dream of racing in front of his home fans.
The Chinese Grand Prix, which had been a fixture of the F1 calendar since 2004, was suspended between 2020 and 2023 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions.
F1 did eventually return to Shanghai earlier this year, and Zhou took to the track in front of an adoring home crowd. His 14th place finish in the grand prix was almost secondary on a weekend that he described on social media as “unforgettable.” Around 60,000 fans packed the stands on each day of the race weekend.
“For me, it’s more about bringing a sport (to China) that is probably not relevant to us or not so popular for us,” Zhou told CNN at a recent Zero Petroleum’s Fuel Reinvented event.
“And when it looks like it’s impossible, to get a drive on the grid and then to make that breakthrough to be the first one, in China it basically gives a lot of hopes for the younger generations.”
Chasing a dream
Zhou began his motorsport career in karting, getting into racing at eight years old. He left China four years later, moving to Sheffield, England to continue his development with the Strawberry Racing Karting team.
He enjoyed success in the UK, winning multiple titles before being signed to the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy.
He then progressed into open-wheel racing and competed in various junior series, such as Formula Three, before joining the Alpine (then Renault) academy in 2018 ahead of his jump to Formula Two.
A third-place finish in the F2 championship in 2021 caught the eye of F1’s Alfa Romeo, who signed Zhou to a multi-year deal and gave him his opportunity on the biggest stage as part of an overhaul of its driver lineup partnering the incoming Valtteri Bottas.
An arduous journey – that began with Zhou moving all the way across the world as a child in pursuit of his dream – was finally complete
“All these achievements, sacrifice, anticipating we’ve done as a family, as a group of people in my team – I’ve just been really grateful to have them there,” he said. “We finally achieved the goal that looked like it was impossible at the beginning.”
‘I went through it all’
At the opening of the 2022 season in Bahrain, Zhou scored points at the first time of asking, coming home to finish 10th on debut.
However, Zhou has had an up-and-down two and a half seasons in F1. He finished in the points on a further five occasions and came within two places of scoring on several occasions, despite the Sauber car often being uncompetitive. He also has two fastest laps to his name.
‘Obviously, (it’s been) only three years but time flies,” said the 25-year-old Zhou. “It feels like I’ve been through a lot of things, first year scoring points on debut and then having that big incident at Silverstone. Then having multiple technical issues that put me out of points.
“So all these things, it’s a bit more challenging, but I went through it all. I’m quite happy with the achievement we did.”
Zhou might have only mentioned his 2022 incident at Silverstone in passing, but it is impossible to forget the horrific crash he sustained.
At the start of that year’s race, he made contact with Mercedes’ George Russell, causing his Alfa Romeo to flip over, skid across the track and gravel upside-down for several seconds before flipping over the tire barrier and catch fencing, which is there to protect fans.
It was one of the most terrifying crashes in recent years, but Zhou escaped unscathed and said afterwards that the halo protection device on his car saved his life.
Having never been one to shy away from adversity, Zhou did not let the incident affect his rookie campaign or his career as a whole, looking back on what he has achieved positively.
“I’m proud of the opportunity given by the Sauber group, who gave me the opportunity to reach my dream, to get on this grid,” he said.
“There’s still plenty of things I can improve on, so hopefully I’ll be continuing for many more years on this grid.”
Driving with style
Away from the racetrack, Zhou is known for his fashion sense and frequently turns heads with his outfits on race weekends, often sporting designer attire.
He has drawn comparisons to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for his sartorial tastes, with Zhou crediting the Briton for helping drivers feel comfortable about expressing themselves in different ways in the paddock.
His colorful helmet designs are just as eye-catching as his black and neon green Kick Sauber liveried car, which is emblazoned with the number 24 on it.
Zhou explained that he was unable to use his favorite number three upon arriving in F1 as it was already being used by Daniel Ricciardo, while 33 had been used the season prior by Max Verstappen – numbers have to be out of use for two whole seasons before they become available again.
As a result, he opted to pay tribute to one of his heroes, the late Kobe Bryant, who wore 24 on his jersey during the second part of his Hall of Fame NBA career.
“I wanted to have a number that means something to me,” he said. “Kobe was an athlete I grew up watching him all the time, playing for the (Los Angeles) Lakers. I just had a massive inspiration … I just wanted to make sure that this number gives me energy.”
