Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Things to Know About Guanyu Zhou: F1's New Debutant and China's First F1 Racer

In the 2022 Formula One season, for the first time in the history of F1; a Chinese racer will be behind a Formula One car

Formula One’s Alfa Romeo has roped in 22-year-old Chinese motorsport racer Guanyu Zhou for the upcoming season of F1 2022. It is a piece of great news for China and the community of Formula One because in the 72-year-old history of the sport, never has a Chinese driver been behind the wheel of an F1 car. In the red and white car, Zhou will start on the grid with former Mercedes Finnish racer Valtteri Bottas.

Why is this article relevant?

The article is newsworthy because Asian countries have not tasted much success in Formula One; the biggest stage in the world of motorsport. Since 1950, several racers have tried to reach Formula One, but only a handful few have earned a racing seat. Therefore, Zhou winning a seat at Romeo is a big deal for China and the Asian Formula One fans. Apart from Zhou, Thailand’s Albon will be seen driving the Williams’ car.

Who is Guanyu Zhou?

Zhou is a 22-year-old racer from China who started his single-seat racing career in 2015, taking part in the ADAC Formula 4 and Italian F4 Championship. From 2014 to 2018, Zhou was a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and in 2020 and 2021, he was the test driver of team Renault and Alpine, respectively. From 2019 to 2021, Zhou drove in Formula One 2 for the UNI-Virtuosi Racing team.

Young Zhou’s achievements so far

In 2021, Zhou finished third in drivers’ standings in F2, whereas, in 2020 and 2019, he finished sixth and seventh, respectively. In the 2021 F3 Asian Championship, Zhou grabbed the first position with 257 points. Zhou also produced commendable performances in the Formula 3 European Championship; a competition in which he took part for three years. Not to forget, in the 2015 Italian F4 Championship, Zhou secured an overall second rank for PremaPowerteam.

Guanyu Zhou’s official statement after the done deal

Last but not the least, after signing the contract with Romeo, an ecstatic Zhou took to his official Twitter account and wrote: 2022 @alfaromeoracing F1 Driver! A kid’s dream come true. First Chinese F1 driver. Lots of emotions going through my mind right now. I’m just so grateful for this opportunity. Thanks to everyone who believed me, supported me on this journey.