Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou believes he has silenced critics ahead of his Formula One debut, but says it “hurt quite a bit “
Guanyu Zhou was “quite surprised” by the amount of abuse he faced on the internet ahead of his Formula One debut at Alfa Romeo and says it “hurt quite a bit”.
Zhou became the first full-time Chinese Formula One driver this year after moving up from Formula 2. He became teammates with Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo after the Swiss team changed its entire driver pairing for the 2022 season.
However, ahead of his Formula 1 debut, Zhou was criticised and berated online as many questioned his suitability for the seat and labelled him a “pay driver”. Antonio Giovinazzi, who Zhou replaced at Alfa Romeo, said after losing his seat that Formula One can be “ruthless” when “money rules”.
Zhou: Have received racist comments
A point on debut in Bahrain was what Zhou called “the best answer” to his critics, while more points followed in Canada where he finished eighth. “I was able to prove my point and change the minds of most people around me, so I’m very happy in that respect,” said the Chinese.
“It hurt quite a bit. When you achieve your dream, I was in the top three in Formula 2 and had secured the super licence points, and when people don’t really follow your path and talk like that, it does hurt from my side. “
When asked if he meant comments on the internet that hurt him, Zhou replied, “Yes, nowadays people use the internet and social media a lot. When that happened, I was quite surprised how many people made racist comments or something like that.”
“You still have fans who support you, but a lot of them don’t really follow Formula 2 or the junior series. They only follow Formula 1, they see who you are, that you’re from China, [and say] that’s the only reason you get a seat, for whatever reason. “
Zhou: Thought people would congratulate me
“That hurt because when you have a dream and you finally achieve it, you expect people to congratulate you and not send messages like that and try to put you down,” Zhou expresses disappointment.
“But I don’t let it get me down by looking at these comments or people throwing bad stuff at me. The best thing I can do is just give it my all on the track. I think we proved that. I’m very happy now. “
The Alfa Romeo driver says he has noticed a change in the kind of messages he now receives from fans, and some have even apologised to him on social media for what they said before his debut.
Zhou amazed: in 2021 everyone still wanted me to drive Formula 1
“Social media is good, it gives every sport and every person the chance to show their personality to people who don’t have the chance to get close to it,” says Zhou. “But there is also the other side of the coin: people can throw nasty things at you for no reason. But I think, on the whole, I’m coping well with all that.”
“But it’s different from what I imagined when I signed the contract. When you’re in Formula 2, everyone hopes you get the place in Formula 1. In 2021, everyone wanted me to take the seat at Alpine. So it’s strange how it changes in half a year just because you already have [the seat]. It’s very normal for everyone.”
Zhou is now focused on retaining his seat at Alfa Romeo for 2023 amid the current movements in the driver market, with talks planned after the summer break at Spa.
