Guanyu Zhou made his Formula 1 debut in 2022 at the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside Valtteri Bottas as part of Alfa Romeo’s revamped driver line-up, after three seasons competing in Formula 2.
The Swiss team recognized that the support of the Chinese sponsors with Zhou, as the first driver of that nationality to participate in a Formula 1 race, was one of the elements that influenced their decision to hire him, but also pointed out the track record that led him to be third in F2 last year.
Zhou sent a message to all the critics who wrote him off by not making it to Q3, before coming back from a poor start to finish 10th, scoring a point on his debut.
“I think once I signed the contract last season, for some reason people had some different thoughts about my presence in Formula 1,” he said. “But in my mind, I think I’ve done everything I needed to do to get a seat in F1. This season, I wanted to get into Q2 and into the points so I could shut them up.”
“Today I am very relieved as I have gone from 15th to 10th, but it was more like last to 10th,” Zhou said. “I think that’s the best answer. I’m not talking particularly bad, but I’ll just focus on my job.”
Zhou was visibly emotional as he got out of the car and celebrated with his Alfa Romeo mechanics as the team recorded its best result since Brazil 2019, with Bottas finishing sixth.
After finishing the qualifying session in 15th position, the Chinese car’s anti-stall system kicked in after the start, dropping him to the back of the pack before starting to make up positions.
The Chinese driver was in 13th place when the event resumed after the final safety car period, but he managed to overtake Mick Schumacher before benefiting from the abandonment of the two Red Bulls to claim a point for finishing 10th.
“Delighted is not the right word, I think excited is the right word to sum up the race,” Zhou said. “I was very focused on coming back. Every move that was possible I did, it didn’t matter if it was the last corner or the first or 4, I think I made the right decision.”
“That enthusiasm inside me has been completely ignited today. Once it was possible and I looked at my race pace and for the second, and the third stint, I thought I have to go for it even more. To get a point is incredible Zhu concluded.
