Guanyu Zhou is learning a lot from Valtteri Bottas

Guanyu Zhou has started his second Formula 1 season. The Chinese driver is still in a learning phase, and the Alfa Romeo racer was able to rely on his teammate, the experienced Valtteri Bottas, to improve.

(I) I think it’s a way for me to improve more quickly, it’s a way for me to be more direct. There is no game, it’s very open and transparent within the team between the two drivers. He helped me a lot in the first year, especially when I was a beginner, and I learned a lot from him on and off the track », explains the former member of the Alpine Academy in an interview given to planetF1.

No war between the two men

The 24-year-old driver is happy with this situation and prefers to drive alongside an experienced driver rather than with a driver of his own age. « If I were up against someone my age, we would both be in our first or second year, it would have been different, you know, we would have tried to destroy each other, for sure, but in this case, it wasn’t the case in this team, and that’s great. »

For the pilot, Alfa Romeo’s policy of having an experienced driver and a rookie is the best decision.

« I just have the feeling that you arrive in a team and the team looks at what is best for them. The Alfa Romeo team made a very good decision from the start by having a rookie driver and an experienced driver. I think it’s the best solution for everything, especially for us when we are fighting in the midfield » tells the Chinese.

Keep fighting

The driver is aware that he is in the best position for battle in the pack. « We don’t want two mid-pack drivers trying to destroy each other or play games. Unless it’s a top team, of course they choose the first and second driver. Having two drivers at different stages of their careers gives us confidence and allows us to play as a team, which is what we need », continued the third-place finisher in the 2021 Formula 2 championship.