Zhou Guanyu: Didn’t expect to get ‘hate for no reason’ after reaching F1
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Zhou Guanyu
In 2022, Zhou Guanyu became the first Chinese driver to ever compete in F1. This, along with the fact that he did not have a particularly decorated junior career (his only trophy being the 2021 F3 Asian Championship) meant that there was considerable scrutiny on him. He had many doubters, with some even branding him a ‘pay driver’.
His outing in Bahrain helped take the intense immediate pressure off him – The fact that he scored points on his debut probably shut a few of them up. Zhou does feel that he attracted far too much criticism even before he had got started, but clarified that this was from people outside the paddock – especially from social media. He didn’t expect to get ‘hate for no reason’, especially when he had only just gotten started.
In an interview with The Race, the Chinese driver said: “The people in the paddock were always OK. It’s more on the outside, the fans on the internet, the keyboard writers, they are being a bit harsh or unfair. It’s not something I expected, where you reach your dream and then you get all this hate for no reason. It’s great to use this season to kind of just change my picture around a little bit, let people know me better.”
Also Read: Zhou Guanyu opens up on learning under Valtteri Bottas in 2022
Zhou Guanyu feels being F1’s first Chinese driver got him ‘unnecessary attention’
Sergio Perez has earlier talked about how he felt that he was ‘not taken seriously’ as a Mexican driver in Formula 1. Zhou Guanyu’s is a similar case – and likely worse, as he’s the first-ever Chinese driver to compete in the sport. F1, it must be said, is very eurocentric – something the owners are now trying to move away from, considering the amount of American and Asian races on the calendar in 2023.
Zhou felt that there was a direct link between his nationality and the unjust criticism he has received. On this, he said: “Yeah, it’s true. Let’s say it, to be quite open, it’s definitely true. I read what Checo said. If you’re a Chinese driver it’s even worse, probably twice as worse than what’s affected Mexican drivers! I’ve lived in this kind of situation many times in my career. I’m used to how to get rid of all this unnecessary attention, to just focus purely on the job.”
His method to dealing with doing what he did in Bahrain earlier this year – by proving them wrong on track: “When this happens the only way I try to deal with it is to keep it quiet, just to do the things on track, do the job, which is the most efficient way. But it’s still quite unfair or bad to see how people are still judged by all nationalities. It’s definitely not the way we should go forward.”
On paper, it seems that Zhou was completely outclassed by Valtteri Bottas. The points tally would suggest – but it’s not entirely true. Their head-to-head race record is 14-7. The Finn is vastly more experienced, and moreover, he scored 46 of his 49 points until the Canadian GP in June. Back then, Zhou was still getting used to F1 – as he was the rest of the season, but obviously, it got easier for him as the season went on. It was a decent rookie season – enough to warrant a second. Still, he’ll have to step it up in 2023, and really prove himself.
Also Read: “I definitely wanted to achieve a bit more,” Zhou Guanyu rates his “chaotic” 2022 F1 season
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)