Zhou Guanyu: A star even if he doesn’t win today’s Chinese Grand Prix
By Stephen Wade
Formula 1 returns to China this weekend after a five-year absence. And no matter who wins on Sunday, the star locally will be China-born driver Zhou Guanyu.
Despite his so-so results, Zhou is being promoted as a celebrity in China. He’s the subject of a new film as the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 and a favourite of sponsors seeking a Chinese connection.
Ahead of the first Grand Prix weekend in Shanghai since 2019, Zhou described it as more than a race, saying, “With a Chinese driver on the grid, we will write history.”
All smiles: Zhou Guanyu of Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber looks on in the drivers press conference.Credit: Getty
By the time he got to the driver’s news conference on Thursday, where the questions ranged from China’s economy and politics to its burgeoning auto industry’s future F1 potential, Zhou had spent more than a week doing promotional work and meeting sponsors, backers and fans.
“I’ve been extremely busy, you know – [I’m] the busiest man, probably, in Shanghai over the last week and a half,” he said. “A lot of activities … It’s great to see the support from the country already.”
Zhou has never won a Formula 1 race. Over 48 grands prix since 2022, he’s yet to even reach the podium — meaning a finish in the first three places. In the last F1 race almost two weeks ago in Japan, his Sauber retired with a gearbox failure and he placed 18th out of 20.
In the 2023 season standings, he finished up 18th with just six points from 22 races.
But the numbers don’t matter much in the search for a hometown hero in F1.
“The pressure, of course, this race is a little bit higher, but I don’t think it gets much more than for me than my debut in Formula 1,” he said. “Because by now everything feels a lot more familiar than back in the day. First day here is completely different ... now’s third season. So I’m just going to use that.”
Zhou was born in Shanghai, and though he’s spent many of his formative years in England, Sunday’s Chinese GP is a homecoming for him — and for the race. The last F1 in China ran in 2019, and the next four were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber during last month’s F1 Grand Prix of Australia.Credit: Getty
He noted that tickets sold out quicker than ever for the Chinese Grand Prix, with interest in the sport growing exponentially since he watched his first F1 race.
“For me, of course, it’s been 20 years waiting until this grand prix,” Zhou said. “Coming back here being an F1 driver ... yeah, I can’t wait.”
“A lot of mixed emotion, of course, but I want to treat it as much as the normal race weekend.”
A film about Zhou’s life is set to be released on Friday by the state-owned Shanghai Media Group, one of China’s largest media conglomerates.
The production is part of the effort to show the global community that China is open for business and tourism. Zhou’s helmet for the race will show details of Shanghai’s subway system and famous landmarks around the city.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes – he’s moving next season to Ferrari – won the 2019 race in China in the midst of his era of dominance when he won four straight season titles between 2017 and 2020.
However, the Japan race two weeks ago was Hamilton’s 49th straight failure to win. His last victory was in 2021.
The Chinese Grand Prix weekend will include a sprint race on Saturday, with the main event on Sunday. However, several drivers have raised concerns about the sprint being run on a track that has not been seen since 2019.
The only practice is scheduled for Friday, followed by sprint qualifying. Saturday has the sprint race, and qualifying for Sunday — all on a newly paved track.
China is relatively new to auto racing, and Shanghai held its first grand prix in 2004. In a statement last month, China’s General Administration of Sport – combined with the commerce and culture ministry – indicated that sports events were a priority.
The statement urged the recognition of “the comprehensive benefits of sports events” and cultural tourism to “fully release consumption potential.”
China’s national statistics bureau said some 8 million inbound tourists entered mainland China in 2023, down from over 145 million in 2019. Visitors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are counted as inbound tourists, and their numbers have returned to 81% of 2019 levels.
AP