Zhou frustrated by his second consecutive abandonment in Barcelona
Unlucky in the last two races in Miami and Barcelona, Guanyu Zhou is undoubtedly frustrated by these mechanical issues.
Two retirements in two races. That’s the summary of Guanyu Zhou’s performance in two Grand Prix races, in Miami and then in Barcelona this weekend. And in each case, the Chinese driver cannot be blamed, as it is the mechanics that are responsible each time.
Eliminated in Q2 on Saturday, in 15th position with an Alfa Romeo that seems very competitive, as evidenced by the results of his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Zhou hoped to climb back into the points on Sunday. Because since the first race of the season in Bahrain, the rookie hasn’t scored any points while Bottas sits in 8th place in the drivers’ standings with 38 points.
The difference in experience obviously plays in favor of the Finnish driver, but as the races go by, the balance sheet becomes increasingly painful for Zhou. As for the last two races, we can’t blame him much. All I was informed is that I had to stop the car, cool it down, and yes, I think there is a problem. It’s probably not the same as in Miami, but… it’s really unfortunate and quite disappointing, just because it was two races where we were fighting for points with the guys around us, but we couldn’t get them at the finish, says Zhou after the race.
« We really need to focus on the right way to do things, make sure we can at least finish the race, and improve from now on.
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Despite two problems that seem different, Zhou asserts that the outcome is the same: preventing him from gaining experience. « This obviously affects my experience, but it’s also as if every time we couldn’t finish the race, we were there together fighting with the guys in the midfield battle. It would be incredible to be involved in all these things, but it’s quite frustrating to have two races with a similar issue. Obviously, it’s a different problem, but similar, because I didn’t finish the race. »
After promising starts, Guanyu Zhou must now maximize everything and score points. With the Monaco event this weekend, the Alfa Romeo driver will undoubtedly be expected after two races where he couldn’t demonstrate certain progress due to mechanical issues.
