When Guanyu Zhou landed a full-time F1 seat in 2022, many questioned his place on the grid. A huge section of the F1 fanbase felt that there were more talented drivers in F2 who deserved a spot more than Zhou, but it didn’t take long for him to prove them wrong.
In his very first race, the first-ever full-time Chinese F1 driver scored points by finishing P10 in Bahrain, and he continued to impress in the coming races as well. It is fair to say that Zhou has settled well in F1 and fans are now familiar with him and his talent.
However, the one thing fans are still not getting right is his name. According to Chinese customs, the family name always comes first when referring to someone. The majority of the F1 community calls him Guanyu Zhou, but the Shanghai-born driver prefers to be known as Zhou Guanyu.
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Oscar Piastri was the F2 Champion in 2021, which was his first season in the series. On the other hand, Zhou had been in F2 for over three years and even though he put in some memorable performances, he didn’t have an impact as big as Piastri.
This is why upon entering F1, fans gave him a lot of stick, especially after rumors of his financial backing surfaced. Multiple reports claimed that he brought in about $50 million to the Sauber team, which is why Alfa Romeo hired him in the first place.
Zhou has denied these rumors and said that him being Chinese was a big factor behind people throwing these accusations at him. A year has now passed since he made his F1 debut in Sakhir, and he has well and truly silenced a huge chunk of his doubters.
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Zhou tops day two of Bahrain pre-season test
The Bahrain International Circuit is a memorable track for Zhou, because it was the place where he scored points on his F1 debut. Ahead of the start of the 2023 season, the 23-year-old once again put in a memorable shift in Sakhir during pre-season testing.
While testing out the new C43 under the lights, Zhou put in a lap time of 1:31.610, which ended up being the fastest of the day. This is an encouraging sign for Alfa Romeo, who want to build on their impressive P6 finish in 2022.
