Zhou this year became the first Chinese full-time Formula 1 driver after a career in Formula 2, teaming up with Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo .
But Zhou was subjected to criticism and even bullying on the internet before his F1 debut. Many questioned his suitability for the seat, labeling him a pay driver . Antonio Giovinazzi , whom Zhou replaced at Alfa Romeo, said after losing his seat that F1 could become “ruthless” when “money rules”.
Finishing in the points on his debut in Bahrain was, in Zhou’s words, “the best answer” to such criticism, along with another top-10 finish at the Canadian GP, where he finished eighth.
“I was able to prove myself and change most people’s minds, so I’m very happy,” Zhou told Motorsport.com, in an interview before F1’s summer break.
“It hurt me a lot [the harassment received]. After achieving my dream, finishing in the top three in F2 and securing the super license points, people come who do not follow your trajectory and talk about you like that. For me, it is painful. “
When asked if he was referring to online comments that hurt him, Zhou replied, “Yes, nowadays people use the Internet and social media a lot.”
“When this happened, I was quite shocked at how many people were making racist comments or things like that.”
“I still have fans who support me, but a lot of them don’t really follow F2 or the promo cups. They just follow F1, they look at who you are, that you come from China, [and they say] that’s the only reason why. the one you’ve got a seat for, whatever.”
“It hurt a little bit, because when you have a dream and you finally achieve it, you expect people to send you congratulations, not send you these kinds of messages and try to bring you down.”
“But I don’t get knocked down just by seeing these comments or people saying bad things to me. The best thing I can do is just talk on the track. I think we’ve shown what I’m capable of. Now I’m very happy.”
Zhou said that he had seen a change in the type of messages he now received from fans, with some apologizing to him via social media for what they had said before his debut.
“Social media is good, it gives all sports, all people a chance to show their personality to people who don’t have a chance to get close to them,” Zhou said.
“But then you have the negative side, like people saying mean things to you for no reason. But I think overall I’m dealing with all of that pretty well.”
“It is different from what I imagined when I signed the contract. When you are in F2, everyone expects you to take a seat in F1. In 2021, everyone wanted me to join Alpine .”
“It’s quite strange how everything changes in half a year, just because you’ve got it [the seat].”
Zhou is focused on retaining his Alfa Romeo seat for 2023 amid the current transfer rush, and is due to hold talks with the team at Spa after the summer break.
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