Kobe Bryant is one of the most inspirational figures in sporting history. His way of looking at life, working hard to achieve his goals, and general outlook on success are what helped him stand out. One such person who cites Bryant and his mantra as an inspiration is F1 star, Guanyu Zhou.
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Zhou, who made his F1 debut in 2022 with Alfa Romeo is a huge fan of the late great NBA legend. In fact, to honor Bryant, Zhou uses the number 24 in his car which was Bryant’s number for a huge portion of his career-long stint with the LA Lakers. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Zhou talks about Bryant, and how he inspired him on his path to F1.
Guanyu Zhou on why he’s chosen to race with number 24 in #F1:
“Kobe Bryant was a big inspiration to me when I was more interested in basketball than motorsports. What impressed me most was his work ethic… he worked tirelessly on himself.” pic.twitter.com/9JFOnG4xRR
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) January 7, 2022
Zhou became the first ever Chinese driver to become a full-time star in F1. Being the best racing driver in China comes with a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but the Shanghai-born mentions Kobe Bryant, who was one of the best in the world, but seemed unfazed when he was under fire.
Kobe Bryant played a huge role in Guanyu Zhou’s life
Zhou was asked about ‘Mamba Mentality’, which is what Kobe Bryant used to call his approach. Zhou says that it inspired him to work harder than anyone else around him, because that is what Bryant did to make himself better than his peers.
‘The Mamba Mentality: How I Play’ is the name of Bryant’s autobiography, which Zhou loves. He quotes some of the things from the book that helps him as he looks to climb up the ladder in F1.
“That’s Mamba Mentality. Get better every single day.”
– Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/U1wRfQf2i4
— Kobe Highlights & Motivation (@kobehighlight) April 2, 2022
“The stuff he said in his book is crazy,” the 23-year-old said. “Just saying that he will be training at 4 a.m. Or something like that. And like he said, when you stop training, they will catch up to you. If you want to be always the lead, then you have to be always putting in the double effort.”
Zhou feels that in order to succeed in any field, following Bryant’s mentality is the best way ahead. He idolized the LA Lakers legend since when he was a child, and it allowed him to represent his country in the pinnacle of motorsports.
Bryant’s influence on other sports
When news broke out about Bryant’s tragic chopper crash in 2020, the entire sporting world went into mourning. Of course, the basketball community was overwhelmingly heartbroken. Several NBA players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and former stars like Shaquille O’Neal left heartfelt messages for Bryant and his family.
Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 26, 2020
However, other sports too, were shell shocked and devastated. This is because, Bryant’s way of inspiring athletes wasn’t limited to basketball only. There are footballers, soccer stars, tennis legends and as we just saw, young racers, who idolized the Philadelphia-born.
Even though Bryant passed away more than three-years ago, the ideas he instilled upon a new generation of budding athletes, still get carried forward to this day.
