Zhou is satisfied with his start in F1
Despite scoring few points in seven Grand Prix, Guanyu Zhou said he was pleased with his performances in his first Formula 1 races.
On March 20th, Guanyu Zhou made his first start in Formula 1 in Bahrain. Just under two hours later, the Chinese driver already scored his first point in the premier category after a very well-executed race. For someone who some already saw as one of the two worst drivers on the grid, the performance is already very impressive.
Since then, almost three months later, the assessment is more mixed. Since the first race in Sakhir, the Chinese driver has never entered the points zone in the following six Grand Prix races. After two consecutive eleventh-place finishes in Jeddah and Melbourne, the subsequent races were more complicated for Zhou, with a fifteenth-place finish in Imola, followed by two consecutive retirements in Miami and Spain due to mechanical issues. Finally, two weeks ago in Monaco, he could only manage a nondescript sixteenth-place finish.
Never far from the points in the early Grand Prix races, the subsequent events have been more contrasting for Guanyu Zhou, with a certain amount of bad luck notably involved. The Chinese driver describes these situations in which he missed out on scoring points by very little. « To be honest, I think we had opportunities to score points in every race, like in Jeddah, where I was able to finish P11. That should have been another points finish, but we received a penalty, a drive-through that cost us 25 seconds. Then in Melbourne, there were safety car issues, and Imola was going well but there was an incident in the first lap, and in Miami we couldn’t complete the entire race. »
Despite these results, which on paper are not excellent, Zhou is satisfied with what he is showing behind the wheel of the C42. « I must say that I have been able to handle different situations already, I feel that the pure speed is there. I feel that there is a lot more potential, but also, I have not done anything stupid, beginner mistakes, so for me, it is a good start. »
Zhou also reflected on his first Formula 1 Grand Prix, in which he scored, so far, his only point. I think that since the beginning of the season, many people have been impressed or surprised by my performance. For my part, I will always keep up with the other drivers, whether they are more experienced or not, because I feel that I have the abilities to do so as a Formula 1 driver. In Bahrain, I was very happy to already be able to score points, it was definitely not something we expected. I think it’s always good when people change their minds. We just have to keep working and I think I will be better and faster from now on.
This weekend, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place. Last year in Formula 2, Guanyu Zhou didn’t necessarily shine in the streets of Baku, despite a podium finish with a third place in race 1. On a track known for its unpredictable races, the Chinese driver may have another opportunity to score points.
