Zhou Guanyu 2022 Beyond the Grid podcast interview
Zhou Guanyu’s route to F1 was epic. As a child he watched the Chinese Grand Prix from the grandstands and dreamed of joining his racing heroes. But with no footsteps to follow..
Guanyu Zhou stats & info
| Name | Zhou Guanyu |
| Country |  China |
| Place of Birth | Shanghai |
| Date of Birth | May 30th 1999 - 23 years old |
| Season Entries | 1 (Rookie) |
| First Race | 2022 Bahrain F1 GP |
| Last Race | 2022 Canadian F1 GP |
| Best Qualifying | 10th - 2022 Canadian F1 GP |
| Best Result | 8th - 2022 Canadian F1 GP |
Zhou Guanyu F1 Stats | |
| Race Starts | 9 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Points Finishes | 2 (22,2%) |
| Retirements | 3 (33,3%) |
| Total Points | 5 |
| Total Laps | 417 |
Biography
Guanyu Zhou Biography
Guanyu Zhou testing the Alfa Romeo on the first day of testing in Bahrain
Shanghai-born Zhou began karting at the age of eight and, aged 12, having exhausted the national competition, left China for Sheffield, UK, to compete for Strawberry Racing, where he won both the Super 1 National Rotax Max Junior Championship and Rotax Max Euro Challenge.
Mid-2014, aged 15, Zhou joined the Ferrari Driver Academy after being spotted by the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Team. In 2015, Zhou relocated to Italy to race for Prema Powerteam, contesting the Italian Formula 4 Championship and finishing his first season as Vice-Champion and Best Rookie.
A move to Team Motopark in 2016 to compete in the FIA Formula European Formula 3 Championship marked the start of a three year stint in the series, which saw him make his return to Prema in 2017, where he stayed for a further season.
At the end of 2018 Zhou left the Ferrari Driver Academy and was awarded the role of Development Driver for the Renault Formula One Team as part of their Renault Sport Academy driver program, now the Alpine Academy.
2019 saw Zhou make his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut and a welcome return to the UK with British team, UNI-Virtuosi Racing, where he finished 7th in his first season, taking the Anthoine Hubert Award for the Highest-Finishing Rookie.
Having shown his dedication, commitment and talent, in 2020 he was promoted to official Test Driver for Alpine F1 Team. No stranger to breaking the mold, Zhou’s role as a Test Driver makes him the first driver from China to occupy a Formula 1 role within a manufacturer team.
BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 10: Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42. (Photo by Carl Bingham / LAT Images)
Currently leading the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Virtuosi Racing, 22-year-old Zhou will make his Formula 1 race weekend debut at the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Friday 2nd July for Alpine, taking to the wheel of Fernando Alonso’s A521 for the first Free Practice session.
On 16 November 2021, Alfa Romeo announced Zhou would be making his Formula 1 debut in 2022 as Valtteri Bottas' teammate and Antonio Giovinazzi's replacement.
Debut F1 season with points in the first race
In his first F1 race, Zhou started 15th and finished the race in 10th place, scoring a point in his debut race with Alfa Romeo.
Then, Zhou finished 11th in consecutive races, in Saudi Arabia and Australia with adequate performances.
In the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Zho qualified six-tenths ahead of his experienced teammate (and great driver on Saturdays) Valtteri Bottas.
Then, he repeated the feat in the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix (he went through Q3 and Bottas didn't, and the difference between the two in Q2 was six-tenths). He went on to finish the race in eighth place, the best result of his F1 career so far.
Helmets
Guanyu Zhou Helmets
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- 2022 Helmet Guanyu Zhou
Cars
Guanyu Zhou F1 Cars
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- Guanyu Zhou (CHI), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the Formula 1 pre-season testing prior the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship, on the Bahrain International Circuit, from March 10 to 12, 2022 in Sakhir, Bahrain – Photo Diederik Van Ver Laan / DPPI
Seasons
Guanyu Zhou Final Championship Results
| 2022 |
|---|
| 16th |
Guanyu Zhou F1 Seasons Summary
| Year | Team | Engine | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | Laps | FL | Avg Pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 417 | 0 | 0.56 | 5 |
Races
Guanyu Zhou F1 GP Race Classifications
| 8th | 1 Time |
| 10th | 1 Time |
| 11th | 2 Times |
| 15th | 1 Time |
| 16th | 1 Time |
| DNF | 3 Times |
Guanyu Zhou F1 GP Race Results
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2022 | 2022 Canadian F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 10 | 8 | 4 | |
| 8 | 2022 | 2022 Azerbaijan F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 14 | DNF | Technical | 0 |
| 7 | 2022 | 2022 Monaco F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 20 | 16 | 0 | |
| 6 | 2022 | 2022 Spanish F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 15 | DNF | Engine | 0 |
| 5 | 2022 | 2022 Miami F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 15 | DNF | Technical | 0 |
| 4 | 2022 | 2022 Emilia Romagna F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 20 | 15 | 0 | |
| 3 | 2022 | 2022 Australian F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 14 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2022 | 2022 Saudi Arabian F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 12 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1 | 2022 | 2022 Bahrain F1 GP | 24 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 15 | 10 | 1 |
Podiums
Guanyu Zhou F1 Podium Finishes
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts |
|---|
Poles
Guanyu Zhou F1 Pole Positions
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts |
|---|
Comparison
Guanyu Zhou Teammate Comparison
| Year | Team | Team Mate | Best Pos | Points | Wins | Poles | Pos | Quali | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Alfa Romeo | Valtteri Bottas | 8 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 7 |
News
Latest Guanyu Zhou News
Zhou not worried about next year's F1 seat yet
Jun.7 - Chinese rookie Guanyu Zhou says he isn't sure if he will keep his Alfa Romeo seat for 2022. In recent days, rumours have suggested the 23-year-old is among the drivers..
Alfa Romeo's 2022 Spanish F1 GP Friday Practice comments
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN returned to action on practice day for the Spanish Grand Prix, the sixth round of the 2022 season. The team had a productive first session with Valtteri..
Williams: Off Grid | Miami GP | Williams Racing
Pop-up shops, graffiti artists, celebrities and points; The Magic City had it all. Let's go behind the scenes and find out what went down during the most action-packed week of the..
Alfa Romeo 2022 Saudi Arabian F1 GP preview
Mar. 23 - As season openers go, last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix was a cracker. It was an exhilarating race with end-to-end action – and Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN was in the..
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN 2022 Season Trailer
The official Alfa Romeo F1 team trailer for the much anticipated 2022 Formula One season. Please share this on social
2022 Alfa Romeo C42 F1 Car launch pictures
Here you can find the first wallpaper pictures of the Alfa Romeo C42, this F1 car was launched on Sunday 27th of February 2022. This car will be raced in the 2022 F1 season by the..
Rookie F1 driver Zhou not bothered by 'pay driver' jibe
Feb.10 - Guanyu Zhou is confident he belongs in Formula 1. The 22-year-old rookie was not just third overall in Formula 2 last year, he will step up from being an Alpine..
Next year's rookie Zhou tunes out off social media criticism
Dec.15 - 2022 rookie Guanyu Zhou has fended off criticism of his impending Formula 1 debut. When Alfa Romeo signed the strongly-financed Chinese for next year over fellow Alpine..
No seat for Piastri 'bad example' for current F1
Dec.12 - Formula 1 is showing youngsters a "bad example" by locking Oscar Piastri out of the top category of motor racing for at least a year. The Mark Webber-managed Australian..
Read more Guanyu Zhou News »
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