It was a special day for Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, as he became the first driver from China to compete in an F1 race.
The 22-year-old was signed by the Italian outfit for 2022, partnering with Valtteri Bottas.
He spent three seasons in the F2 category, finishing third in the 2021 campaign. Zhou recorded four victories in the class. He also secured four further wins in the F3 Asian Championship last season.
That resulted in a call-up to F1. China’s population stands at around 1.4 billion – and the country hosted a Grand Prix between 2005 and 2019. Zhou is carrying the hopes of a nation in the sport. And he got off to a great start in Bahrain.
Zhou’s accomplished first F1 weekend
Zhou Guanyu got his F1 career off to an ideal beginning. He secured 10th place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, recording his first point on his debut race weekend.
Signs had looked promising all weekend. The Chinese driver comfortably made it into Q2 on Saturday. Although he qualified in P15, only a lap time deletion for track limits prevented him from starting higher up the grid.
On Sunday, he consistently lapped on a similar pace to experienced team-mate Bottas. When Pierre Gasly’s overheated AlphaTauri brought out the safety car with eight laps to go, Zhou sat in 13th position.
He overtook Mick Schumacher on the restart. The 22-year-old then capitalised on the retirements of Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to claim the final points-paying position.
After the race, Zhou said: “It’s amazing. I’m so speechless, you know? It was an emotional race, so intense.
“To be scoring my first ever Formula 1 points in my debut is something I would only have dreamed of one year ago, or two weeks ago.
“Everything is such a new experience for me. Just to be on the grid is crazy. With the national anthem before the start, and seeing yourself with the 20 drivers. It was very emotional.”
Chinese commentators react to Zhou’s first point
Zhou was not the only one delighted with his first F1 race weekend. Back in China, his supporters were also cheering him on.
Meanwhile, the Chinese commentary team for the race couldn’t quite hold themselves back during the key moments.
When Zhou overtook Lewis Hamilton, emerging from the pits on cold tyres, the commentary box went into raptures.
Zhou entered the last lap in 11th place. But when Perez suffered a race-ending spin at the first corner, the commentators raised the decibel levels a step further. Their compatriot moved up to 10th position and held his nerve to the chequered flag.
It was an excellent weekend for Chinese sport, and one that Zhou won’t forget in a hurry.
Featured Image Credit: Getty