“That’s very rare for a rookie”- Valtteri Bottas remarks what separates Zhou Guanyu from his contemporaries

Valtteri Bottas is impressed by his rookie teammate Zhou Guanyu despite the Chinese driver not having the best results.

Guanyu Zhou could not muster a good result as F1 headed back to Asia. The Chinese driver suffered a quick exit from the 2022 Singapore GP after he collided with Nicholas Latifi.

In fact, none of the Asian drivers finished the race. Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda called it a day after removing the barriers. Zhou claimed he missed the opportunity to race and his first ever Singapore GP in an exciting race. But the Chinese driver understands how hard it is to race in the Humid night condition.

 

Valtteri Bottas feels rookie teammate Zhou Guanyu has been performing well. The 10 GP-winning driver is enjoying a career renaissance after leaving Mercedes for Alfa Romeo.

With Mercedes, the benchmark was set by Lewis Hamilton. But at Alfa, Bottas is the number one driver. But he has accepted that he has not had an easy time because of his teammate.

When asked if he finds it easier at Alfa Romeo, the Finn denied it and claimed his teammate constantly challenges him to do better. Bottas replied, “How few mistakes he’s done. Because that’s very rare for a rookie,”

Zhou managed to score points in his F1 debut in Bahrain. And despite a horrific crash in Silverstone, the driver has constantly been learning.

Also Read: Zhou Guanyu plans to release his own clothing line for F1 fans

Valtteri Bottas impressed by Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu has impressed his team, who awarded him a year’s extension on his contract. This extension in stay means Zhou will get to race in the first Chinese GP in 4 years as F1’s first-ever Chinese driver.

He claimed, “Last year I was waiting for a long time to get a confirmation. And this year its all sorted, so I can be a bit more relaxed.”

Zhou says this would allow him to focus better on the races to come and perform. And his 195-race experienced teammate believes he was rightfully awarded the contract.

Bottas believes Zhou is “really mature for his age and experience.” Zhou is pressured to be the first Chinese driver in the sport, but he has adapted well to it.

Bottas added, “His pace has been increasing in qualifying and races throughout the year. So I think it’s good news, and I’m sure he keeps evolving and keeps improving in the future.”

The 2022 Singapore GP ended with 0 points for Alfa Romeo as Valtteri Bottas crawled to a P11 finish. In the last seven races, the team scored 1 point, as claimed by Zhou in Monza after a P10 finish.

And with five races more to go, the team are under threat from, AlphaTauri, Haas, and Aston Martin for the P6 in the Constructors championship.

Also Read: “I’ve experienced what Lewis Hamilton went through,” – Zhou Guanyu considers 103 GP winning driver on his side