In last night's F1 Grand Prix Imola sprint, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu's car withdrew from the race after colliding with Alfatoli's car in the second count of the starting lap.
After the sprint, Zhou Guanyu himself described the situation at the time of the accident: "In the first counting period after the start, I had a difficult but fair struggle with Gasley and Hamilton; at the beginning of the second counting period, I overtook Gasley at Turn 9 and entered the brake zone with a more advanced position. But my car was hit hard in the corner and spun and hit the parapet. This is shocking. ”
Zhou Guanyu felt very sorry for such a car accident, "Obviously, it is disappointing to end the race in this way, especially since we actually have a good car that is very competitive, and I had a great chance of winning a better position." The car was damaged as a result, and the team's mechanics would have to do a lot of work. ”
The worse news was that the car was badly damaged and the repairs could not be completed within two hours of the sprint. Therefore, it is not possible to accept the closure of the FIA according to the regulations, and the Alfa Romeo team admitted to making some changes to Zhou Guanyu's racing settings.
The FIA therefore ruled that Zhou Guanyu's regular race tonight will not only be the last to start, but also will depart from the pit.
However, although regrettable, Zhou Guanyu is still full of confidence in the performance of his and Alfa Romeo's car in the main race, "Now we need to focus on the main race, stop loss in time, and get back up." The team is moving in the right direction and has played a role in upgrading the car, so we still have a good car. ”
Zhou Guanyu also talked about his F1 career debut when he also encountered a similar unfavorable situation, "Through these two days of competition, we saw the possibility of overtaking, so we will still try our best. At Bahrain, I was at the bottom of corner one and still in the points zone, and this time we will try to do it again. "
Alfa Romeo's manager Vassell also has confidence in the Chinese driver, "Zhou Guanyu unfortunately collided on the first lap and withdrew from the race. However, I believe he has a way to fight back. The main conclusion we can draw after Saturday is that the car looks pretty strong at long distances and the goal of Sunday's race is to get good results. ”
The F1 Grand Prix Imola main stage will start at 9pm Beijing time this evening.