Infographic: The 1000th race of the Formula One World Championship (F1) was held in Shanghai, with British driver Hamilton of mercedes-Benz AMG team winning the championship. The picture shows the starting stage of the race. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
Beijing, November 16 (Wang Hao) On the 16th, Beijing time, F1 official Bo announced that Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu joined the Alfa Romeo team. If all goes well, Zhou Guanyu will become the first Chinese driver to participate in the F1 race. This will be an important milestone for Chinese motorsport.
"I feel ready, ready to tackle the huge challenge of Formula One, the tip of the racing pyramid, and look forward to fighting alongside a world-class driver like Bottas, for which I would like to thank the Alfa Romeo ORLEN team for this opportunity and the trust they have placed in me," said Zhou Guanyu.
It makes a lot of sense
Chinese audiences will not be unfamiliar with F1, and the event has been broadcast in China for many years. And since F1 landed in China in 2004, the Shanghai Grand Prix has attracted countless people's attention every year.
In the world, F1 is also one of the most influential events. In February this year, F1 officially released the ratings data for the 2020 season. The 2020 F1 season averaged 87.4 million viewers per game, bringing the total number of viewers to 1.5 billion for the year.
In such a high-profile event, no Chinese driver has ever appeared in the main race before. Before Zhou Guanyu, the Chinese driver closest to the F1 race was Ma Qinghua.
In November 2012, Ma Qinghua signed for the Spanish HRT team, which announced that he would participate in the 2013 F1 race. However, since then, the HRT team has not paid the 2013 F1 participation fee, resulting in Ma Qinghua's failure to participate in the main race, and the Chinese driver's "F1 dream" has once again been shattered.
However, next season, from the moment Zhou Guanyu represents Alfa Romeo in the F1 main event, this history will be rewritten.
Compared with those countries with mature racing systems and a large number of manufacturers, China's level of motorsport development is not high. This time Zhou Guanyu officially entered F1, which has great significance for himself and the entire Chinese motorsport.
Infographic: Zhou Guanyu. Image source: ICphoto.
Why him
At the beginning of July this year, Zhou Guanyu participated in the practice competition of F1 Austria. Chinese drivers have reappeared on F1 weekend, which has excited many fans. Prior to this, Zhou Guanyu had already made a lot of history in his racing career.
In the second leg of the F2 Russia sprint in September last year, Zhou Guanyu won the first F2 race of his career. He also became the first Chinese driver in F2 history to win the championship.
In this season's F2 competition, Zhou Guanyu is currently in second place in the standings, winning 3 titles and taking the podium several times. Overall, Zhou Guanyu is indeed the Chinese driver who should enter F1 the most at present.
Infographic: Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu won the first F2 race of his career. He also became the first Chinese driver in F2 history to win the championship. Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
The huge Chinese market behind Zhou Guanyu has always been considered a favorable condition for him to enter F1. In 2013, Ma Qinghua appeared in the Shanghai Grand Prix Practice Competition; in 2019, Zhou Guanyu drove an F1 car on the streets during the Shanghai Grand Prix for a roadshow... These have attracted a lot of attention.
Zhou Guanyu became the official driver of F1 this time, which is an official win-win situation for the team, drivers, fans and F1. 19 years ago, Yao Ming landed in Houston as a "champion", and since then the NBA has expanded rapidly in the Chinese market. This time Zhou Guanyu joined F1, whether it can produce the same effect, fans maintain high expectations for this.
But from the other hand, after Yao Ming, only Yi Jianlian was able to gain a foothold in the NBA for a short time, which shows that even in such a highly commercial event, strength is still prioritized. Zhou Guanyu can get a formal driver's seat, which has the influence of commercial factors, but his strength is the most important criterion.
What are the prospects
Objectively speaking, for Zhou Guanyu, his first F1 season, it is difficult to stand on the podium as frequently as in the F2 competition.
At the beginning of September this year, F1 officially announced that Bottas will play for Alfa Romeo next season. Bottas had spent the previous five seasons with championship team Mercedes, during which time he won multiple races and made dozens of podium finishes, making him an experienced driver.
In the new season, Zhou Guanyu's most direct "competitor" is Bottas. This task is not simple for the fledgling him.
Image source: F1 Official Blog.
Zhou Guanyu himself also said: "Next year's goal will be to learn and improve yourself as much as possible and as quickly as possible." I became the first Ever Chinese driver to participate in Formula One, which is a breakthrough for Chinese racing, and I know that many people have high hopes for me, and I will continue to use this as motivation to work harder to make myself better and strive for more results. ”
In recent years, the performance of the F1 car itself has a great influence on the outcome of the race, so Zhou Guanyu's performance in the first F1 season depends in part on The development of The Car by Alfa Romeo.
As of the São Paulo Grand Prix this season, Alfa Romeo team has only 11 points, ranking second from the bottom of all teams and 12 points behind williams team in third-to-last. Overall, the performance of Alfa Romeo racing this season is at the level of F1 downstream.
Previously, there were rumors that the Alfa Romeo team would switch to Mercedes engines next season, but the news was not officially confirmed. Even if the engine is changed, whether the performance of the car can be improved and to what extent it will be improved is still unknown.
In short, Zhou Guanyu's first F1 season was difficult to hit the podium. But without much pressure to perform, it's a more realistic task to ensure a finish rate and learn from experienced teammates.
Looking forward to next spring, Zhou Guanyu will be on the field of F1 main competition. The throttle he stepped on when he set off was not only a racing car, but also the development of Chinese motorsport.
Chinese, you can also drive a good F1 car! (End)
Source: China News Network