Conversation with China's first F1 driver, Zhou Guanyu: I fell in love with racing when I drove my first kart at the age of 7

On 16 November, Formula 1 (F1) Alfa Romeo Team officially announced that Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu officially joined the team and will compete as a regular driver in the 2022 Formula 1 (F1) Championship. As a result, Zhou Guanyu became China's first official F1 driver, and he will make his debut in Bahrain, the opening match of F1 next season. On November 17, Zhou Guanyu, who is far away in the United Kingdom, said in an interview with the Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporter: "Everyone who knows about racing knows the difficulties on this road and is very happy that the Chinese players really have a place in the F1 race. ”

"On the day of the first professional competition in my life, I was injured in the hospital"

Zhou Guanyu, born in 1999, is a native of Shanghai. His connection with racing stemmed from an experience his father drove him a go-kart when he was a child. "I've loved toys like cars since I was very young, and birthday gifts are always car-related. When I was around 7 years old, my family took me to drive a go-kart. When I plucked up the courage to sit in the car and feel that speed, I fell in love with the go-kart. ”

Zhou Guanyu told the Purple Cow News reporter: "Later, after school, I would go to play, and after a long time, everyone found that I was driving a single circle much faster than those adults who had played for a long time." ”

My father was a car fan and was very supportive of Zhou Guanyu's interest, "At that time, I mainly practiced in Shanghai, and every once in a while, my family would accompany me to various cities to participate in go-kart races. Zhou Guanyu still remembers the Shanghai Karting Club race when he was 8 years old, "That race was the first professional karting race in my life, but [that day] was spent in the hospital." During the race, the driver's car behind me got out of control and flew over my shoulder, injuring my right arm. When I got home and took off my racing suit, I found that I had a big hole in my arm and needed to go to the hospital for stitches, so I spent the day of the race in the hospital. I was very young and my family was worried and asked me if I wanted to keep driving. I nodded my head even though it hurt, and probably from then on, they saw my true love for racing and have been very supportive of me. ”

Many of zhou Guanyu's memories of his youth are spent on the kart track, training physical fitness, studying tactics, and driving the kart over and over again. At the age of 10, he won all eight races of the National Karting Championship, "I feel terrible about other extreme things, such as my fear of heights, but for speed, it seems that no matter how fast I don't have any fear." 」 ”

As a teenager, he went to England to pursue his dreams, from "kart" to "formula"

"After winning a lot of karting events in the country, I had a dream – to become an F1 driver." Zhou Guanyu told reporters that he needs to practice in the highest level and more professional racing culture environment.

In 2010, 11-year-old Zhou Guanyu accompanied by his family went to the UK to find new developments, "met the top racing drivers in the UK, and competed with the best young racing drivers." In the game, I can clearly feel the gap between the foreign level and the domestic level, there are thirty or forty people in a foreign game, the competition is very fierce, maybe 0.1 seconds is the gap between the first and the tenth. Of course, there is also a lot of loneliness, because there is no other Chinese on the field, and they will be bullied at the beginning. ”

Zhou Guanyu admitted that when he went to the UK, he was only 11 years old, not only encountered difficulties, pressure and confusion on the track, but also outside the arena, he also had to face the sense of difference brought about by foreign cultures like many young teenagers who studied abroad.

Looking back on those years now, Zhou Guanyu said: "It was also the difficulties that accelerated my determination to grow up, when I was practicing while going to school, going to test every weekend or when there was a track day, constantly practicing, and constantly finding some new breakthroughs." At the end of 2013, I began to notice that my grades had improved significantly, from being 10 out of the way at the beginning to becoming a contender for the podium. ”

When winning the National Championship, the All England Championship and the European Championship in the 14-17 year old category, in 2014, the Ferrari Drivers' Academy, which trains Formula One drivers, threw an olive branch to Zhou Guanyu - he began to live alone in Italy, which also means that Zhou Guanyu "graduated" from the karting racing system and entered the formula system.

"Karting is more about training on the track, when it comes to the equation, it needs stronger physical fitness, the requirements for the neck, arm strength, cervical spine are very high, the physical requirements are one or two levels at once, which is also to be trained, and I am very happy that at the Ferrari Driver Academy, I got a very professional training program."

F1 Austrian Grand Prix

Drive the racing car of your childhood idol

After starting his racing career, from F4, F3, F2 to now becoming a regular racing driver in F1, Zhou Guanyu has been "fighting monsters and upgrading" all the way. In 2019, Zhou Guanyu was promoted to F2 and became a development driver for the Renault F1 team while competing in F2. As a result, he became the first driver in China to sign an F1 manufacturer team, and also became the star of hope in the Chinese racing industry closest to the F1 track.

In March this year, Zhou Guanyu won the championship in F2 Bahrain, which was his first F2 main competition, "The whole race was very difficult, so I was very impressed by this race, and it was also my own first time to win the championship in the main stage of F2, which means a lot to me. ”

In July this year, in the first free practice session of the 2021 F1 Austrian Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu drove Alonso's A521 and staged his "debut" in F1.

Zhou Guanyu said: "It is a very exciting thing to join the F1 Grand Prix, I know that my dream and goal is far from driving a car in practice, but to become an F1 driver. During the practice session, I was actually under a lot of pressure, but in the end I ran well and the team was very satisfied with all aspects. ”

What makes him even more meaningful is that before and after the competition, he received a lot of help and recognition from his childhood idol Alonso, "When I was a child, I used to hold a black and white checkered flag with Alonso elements in both hands and leave a standard tourist photo. Growing up, I really went down this road firmly, competing with the drivers I admired as a child, and driving the car of my childhood idol, which was very happy. ”

Wear a blue and white porcelain element helmet

F1 circuit, Chinese is coming

The reporter noticed that Zhou Guanyu participated in many competitions and would wear a helmet of his own design. Zhou Guanyu said: "The helmet is basically some of my ideas and some designs that I like. The purple helmet used to participate in the F1 practice competition, the top of the helmet is inspired by the design of blue, white and blue and white porcelain, which is a design with traditional Chinese cultural meaning. The side of the helmet is the Skyline of Shanghai, representing my hometown. I also have my Chinese on the helmet and my English name. ”

On November 16, Zhou Guanyu officially became the official announcement of China's first F1 driver. On the evening of November 17, Zhou Guanyu, who was far away in the Uk, told the Purple Cow News reporter: "I was also very nervous before, but after getting the news, the whole person was relaxed, and the stone in my heart fell." ”

Zhou Guanyu said: "Every time I see the national flag raised to the highest point on the podium and the national anthem is played, I will be very proud. In the race, other countries raise the national flag, you may not know which driver, but when you hear the Chinese national anthem, you know that I must have won the championship, because I am the only Chinese driver now, and I also hope to use my strength to show the world the style of our Chinese, in the F1 race, we Chinese. ”

For next year's F1 race, Zhou Guanyu is full of expectations, "The new season will be paired with driver Bottas, he is very good. Entering the world of F1 will have a completely different feeling, a completely different atmosphere. I still have a lot to learn and pay, and I hope that next year I can successfully show my most satisfying side. ”

Source: Yangtze Evening News