"I'm going to fight for points and I think there's still a good chance to start from 16th. ”
In the F1 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying session this afternoon, Zhou Guanyu was eliminated in Q1 and ranked 16th. Despite the regret of missing out on Q2 to the home fans, he was still the protagonist of the game.
From the first day of entering the paddock, although there are big stars such as Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso and other veteran drivers who have been racing for many years, the young Zhou Guanyu is the brightest star on the field and has attracted unprecedented attention.
The FIA also put Zhou Guanyu in the C position: on the field, every time Zhou Guanyu walked out of the track, he was "hugged from the front and back". Yesterday, the FIA praised Zhou Guanyu's "historic moment" of fighting on home soil with "hometown hero".
Completely different from the racing driver on the track, Zhou Guanyu, who stepped off the track, showed his "other side": walking slowly, speaking slowly and logically, showing a composure that does not match his age.
(Photo by Morning Post reporter Xu Ming)
"I've been struggling with the overall grip. ”
At noon on April 20, after the first sprint race of this season's F1, Zhou Guanyu said lightly.
He finished ninth and ended the sprint race with great significance for Chinese fans. Regarding the result, Zhou Guanyu seems to be calm and light, but in fact, he is under a lot of pressure.
Zhou Guanyu said frankly, "Playing at home, the pressure is definitely greater than other games, I know what the outside world expects from me, and I am also eager to have a good result." ”
Playing at home means that Zhou Guanyu has to devote more energy to dealing with the "off-field environment", which may also be his little trouble.
Before the game, many entertainment and sports stars came to the arena to "chase stars".
Because of Zhou Guanyu, the villas and garages of the Sauber team have become the "check-in points" of the stars. Although there are bodyguards with him to enter the venue, Zhou Guanyu's popularity remains high, and there is an endless stream of "fans" who want to take photos with him. Therefore, some media predict that Xiao Zhou's star flavor has surpassed Gu Ailing.
Xiao Zhou also has to "memorize texts" (photo by Xu Ming)
In addition to these, before the official debut of the sprint qualifying race on Friday, the morning newspaper reporter interviewed in the paddock, just in time to meet Xiao Zhou's "memorizing texts".
At that time, standing in the small garden of the paddock villa, the resident photographer asked Xiao Zhou to record the video over and over again, only to see him holding his mobile phone to look at the screen while practicing at the camera.
Compared with these trivial things, so far, Sauber Racing has failed to score so far this season, which also bothers Zhou Guanyu.
At the end of this morning's sprint race, Zhou Guanyu was in ninth place, just one step away from eighth, which made him a little regretful.
"I mean, we're doing it step by step...... It's not over yet, so I'm looking forward to it and we're going to give it our all." ”
As soon as the words fell, in the qualifying session of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix that ended in the afternoon, Zhou Guanyu missed the opportunity because of the lock of the front wheel, and Zhou Guanyu finally ranked 16th and stopped in Q1.
Qualifying was disappointing, but so far, as the first Chinese driver to compete in F1, Zhou Guanyu has set at least one all-time record: a P10 victory in the first sprint qualifying round on the field.
It was also his fourth Q3 in regular qualifying since his debut in the 2022 season. In any of last season's sprint races, Zhou Guanyu and team-mate Bottas failed to do so.
Therefore, the results of the Shanghai station have a special meaning for Zhou Guanyu.
Regardless of the result of tomorrow's race, this weekend, F1 China Week belongs to Shanghai and belongs to Zhou Guanyu.