Zhou: “I want to be like Alonso”

In China there are 1,400 million inhabitants, but only one of them drives in F1. That is Zhou Guangyu (pronounced like ‘Joe’ in English), the first Chinese in history to become an official F1 driversomething this course achieved with the team Alfa Romeo. He does not hide that in his country he is a star, but he says it in a small mouth. Don’t even think about it. Instead, he seemed to blush. He only thinks about continuing to improve race after race and being a key pillar for F1 to become a mass phenomenon in his country in a few years. Zhou is committed to continuing to learn to excel in the sport of his life. For this, signing a renewal does not count as key Alfa Romeo, something the 23-year-old pilot (May 30, 1999 Shanghai, China) believes is on the right track. So he shared it with World of sports in an exclusive interview.

How were your beginnings in the motor world in China?

I started in China, when I was a child, 8 years old. I drove karts there for three or four years. In the first year I finished in the Top-3 of the Chinese championship and in the following years I won. So I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver. Therefore, I had to go to the place where I found the toughest competition. I had to go to the UK, and I went there with my family, because I was very young and I needed someone to take care of me. In Great Britain I need to be a better pilot.

It must have been a big change, from his comfort zone, to China, to Britain, a completely different culture.

Yes, it was very difficult. The first, for culture. Moved abroad and also had to go to a new school in Great Britain… I had to understand English when I was 12 years old and my level was what it was… it was difficult, and I probably spent a lot of time that alone, but I did a lot of karting and motorsport and all that made me a stronger driver.

Why did you decide on go-karts as a child if it is not a very popular sport in your country?

Because I love racing. I love the sound of cars, the speed they pick up and it has something to do with how they make me feel. The fact of taking it to its absolute limit… it’s a super special feeling. And when I was a kid I loved cars, and also go-karts. Maybe people of that age in China like other things like Star Wars and so on, but I only had eyes for cars when I was little, even before I started racing. And when I started piloting, it was more fun than I thought. And so I began my career.

A photo of you attending the 2005 Chinese F1 GP with Fernando Alonso’s flag has gone viral. He is a great Asturian fan.

Yes, I went with an Alonso flag, because he’s my… he’s someone I’ve always admired in Formula 1. I remember: it was in 2005. I’ve been supporting Fernando Alonso all year, I’ve been watching him drive, and it’s great that. Now let’s compete together. This is something I never thought of.

Is it weird to drive with your idol?

Yes, this is something very special. I want to be like him one day and it’s great to be up against the person I want to be. Now we are part of the same sport and he is still there, doing a great job. At his age (41) still in F1, sure good. I think there are no better things than competing against him.

What impressed you the most about Alonso?

When he was young, everyone wanted Michael (Schumacher), but Alonso was the only one capable of beating him at that time and I thought that was strange. Look at his career: he always strives to be the best driver he can in every car he has. That always inspires me to give the best I have all the time.

You shared a team with Alonso when he was part of the Alpine young driver academy. What did you learn from him and what did you try to apply to your riding style?

I think the first thing I want to learn from him is why he is so good at the start and the first lap of a GP. De la Rosa said Alonso’s eyes are open to anything and can see far. And that’s how it happened. The way he positioned himself in the first lap was impressive. To continue to maintain this ability and continue like this for so many years, I don’t think it will be an easy thing for anyone.

Do you think Aston Martin will win again?

He’s going to Aston Martin next year and I don’t know (laughs). We will see. I am not here to say anything about his career, but I hope he can achieve the best and clearly what I can see is that he is enjoying F1, not like the last years of his first stage, before he left, when he. lived through hard times.. So happy to see him back and so pleased with himself.

How is Zhou on and off the track?

On the track, of course, professionally, I try to do my best for the team and for myself, people try to make me proud. And outside the track I like other things, like other sports, for example soccer or basketball. And I also love fashion.

In football I understand that he is a fan of Real Madrid.

definitely! I have been following them for years. Last year was very good (laughs). I see the team is doing well and I am happy for them. I know Courtoi, because he loves motor sports and we have fun playing (on the console) and he told me that he wants to take me to a game, but now I don’t have time because I’m very busy. when? Let’s see, maybe next year. But we have many races.

How do you feel about your first year in F1? Could the rule changes perhaps be a help so that the differences among the drivers that have been fixed in the category are small to begin with?

The change in the regulations probably gave me the opportunity to start at a shorter distance, because in F1 you need a lot of experience and your time. In F1 you need one, two or three years to get faster and faster. I’m happy to see the progress I’ve made so quickly to be faster and close the gap to my teammate (Valtteri Bottas). That was the goal and we achieved all the goals I set for this year: get to Q3, finish the points… and I’m happy with the progress. Obviously it’s complicated and maybe from the outside it seems easier, but from the inside it’s all very intense.

You’ve made a lot of progress, but the car hasn’t progressed as fast as your rivals. What do you think you can do with your current experience if you compete again in the first race with that Alfa Romeo?

I think I will finish next to Valtteri Bottas, with him or somewhere behind him. If we go back to the beginning of the season, especially in Bahrain, I finished 10th, but with today’s experience, if Bottas was 6th, I would probably be 6th or 7th. But for my part the most important thing is to do the best I can with what I have now, and of course the retirements this year did not help, because we easily finished more races in the points. But they are things that happen.

What do you think should be improved?

I think in the last races I improved on the starts and I’m happy about it. But for now maybe I have to try to make another career move. Other teams have made more improvements than us maybe, but we still have options to score and my goal should be to get points every time.

You are the first Chinese citizen to become an official driver in F1. One of 1.4 billion people in your country. What does this mean to you?

It’s something very special, something I couldn’t have imagined when I started as a kid.

You should be a star in your country.

Yes. It’s great to see that all the hard work has paid off, but this is not the time to be happy, but to look back and move on from here, improving myself, improving motor sport in my country and the spectators there.

Do you think China can become a super power in F1 in the future?

I think. Our audience is still low but this year it is growing especially and I am sure it will grow in the next years, as well as the competitiveness of the races. I don’t know how much compared to Great Britain, for example, because they started there many years before, but the growth is clear and you only have to see how things were in 2015 compared to now. A step forward was taken.

For F1 to continue to grow in China, it is important that you continue in F1. How are you doing? The contract ends this year with Alfa Romeo. to follow?

This is my first year in F1 and therefore the team is evaluating my performance, but the feedback is promising and the team is very happy with the work I have done, and so am I with them. I am happy to work with them, I’m enjoying it a lot. Nothing has arrived yet, but I hope we have good news.

Why wasn’t its renewal announced in Italy, at Alfa Romeo’s?

Well, because it hasn’t been decided yet. We have plans, one or two, and we have to decide on the contract depending on the feedback. We are talking about the future now and everything looks promising, but we have to wait.

What was it like sharing a team with Bottas?

This is a very good thing. He helped me a lot, he’s a good teammate, a lot of experience. It was great working together. I hope to continue with him, the atmosphere in the team is very good.

Do you think in the future you will fight for a title?

That is the purpose of this work. In the first year, the goal is to learn and improve my skills, but there will come a point where I want to fight for podiums and more than just scoring points, for sure. I hope to be in that position one day, but right now I’m here trying to sort things out in my early years before I take that step.