Zhou Guanyu Is Carrying the Weight of a Nation on His Shoulders

The Shanghai native discusses being the first Chinese driver in F1, his fashion inspiration and the sport’s return to China next year.

Zhou Guanyu is a history-maker. Born in Shanghai, he became the first and still is the only Chinese driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Making his debut at the 2022 Bahrain GP, where he finished in the points on his first attempt, his career has faced many highs and lows with the most dramatic moment being a heart-stopping accident at last year’s British Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old caught up with Sports Illustrated fresh from the team’s impressive double points finish in Qatar to talk about the pressures of representing one of the world’s biggest nations on such a global stage, who impressed him most in junior racing and not being afraid to show off the “real him.”

“It’s nice to be the first Chinese driver on the grid. It’s something I’ve been chasing for, my dream since I was a kid,” Zhou says / Courtesy of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake

Sports Illustrated: How much pressure has there been to be the first Chinese driver racing in F1?

Zhou Guanyu: Yeah, it’s a lot, of course. But nevertheless, it’s nice to be the first Chinese driver on the grid. It’s something I’ve been chasing for, my dream since I was a kid. Also the people and all the fans back there wanted one of their home drivers to be on this grid for such a long period. I’m really happy to be the one, but everybody is keeping an eye on you. Mistakes can be zoomed out massively, because you’re the only one, and they’re watching you all the time. Getting all your onboard videos, every race. It’s kind of both ways, but I just really like it. I feel even the pressure—it wasn’t that I reached F1, it was already there when I was on my way to F1 from Formula Two. People were seeking out that I was the only hope. We’re finally going back [to race in China], and I’m just so excited for next year.

SI: When you were young, you relocated from Shanghai to a city in England called Sheffield. Can you talk me through that process? It seems quite the change.

ZG: That was a bit strange to deal with. I was born in Shanghai, which is a huge city, even a lot bigger than London, for example. But I went to Sheffield, up north, which is a massive change in the culture—in the way I lived and also the people. It was a difficult start, but the reason we went there was because my race go-kart team was based at the factory. I wanted to travel to the races together, in the van or in the truck, with the mechanics or the manager of the team. So it was just easier. That actually was good as well for my education, because you never know where you will end up in the future. That was only the start of my journey. So I had fun, and the biggest difference is just the motorsports culture in the UK. It's so massive there and there's so many great young drivers on the level it is just where you want to be as a kid.

SI: What subjects did you study at school?

ZG: Arts, because I love designing fashion. That was my first pick. Of course you have physical education, like sports, and actually I did home economics. It’s the one where you cook, not because I wanted to be a chef in the future, but just because I found that to be a little bit easier and gave me a bit more time for my racing. I do cook a bit now, so it kind of worked out in the right way and came together.

SI: Who were your favorite people to race in your junior career?

ZG: I will say in the early days of my career it was probably Lando Norris [currently racing for McLaren in F1]. We did karting already together, so it was karting as a competitors as we weren’t teammates. We spent maybe one year as teammates. Then in F4 we were together, F3 we were together, so he’s kind of a driver that I was always growing up racing against. Then of course, coming through F2, I would say probably people like Oscar Piastri [also currently racing for McLaren]. He is something quite special to race against, because you can really see how good he is. And it's great to see that it’s his rookie year and to be winning races is something quite special.

SI: How was the process of signing with Alfa Romeo in F1?

ZG: It wasn't so easy. It was 2021, and I was still doing my F2 championship. There was only one seat available shortly after the summer break, so all the young drivers wanted that seat. There were a lot of people who could potentially get it. So, it was up to me to perform over those next few races in F2 to keep my championship hopes high. It was kind of like a long waiting time of a few months or weeks. I wasn't thinking about that, I was thinking let's try to win the F2 championship and see how we go.

SI: You finished that F2 championship in third in 2021, and won the F3 Asian Championship in the same year. However, when you were announced as the Alfa Romeo driver in F1, you received a lot of negative comments on social media. People said you weren’t deserving of the drive, how did you deal with that kind of response?

ZG: Of course, it felt a little bit depressing when I joined because people at home were still supporting quite a lot. But I think a lot of people who said that, are the kind of people who don’t watch junior categories. Maybe they just saw the results, who was racing and then made this decision. But I’m just really glad that I went through this period. It wasn’t a nice period, because you’re just a kid and you’ve reached your dream. So that was much more pressure, and just being the first Chinese driver meant the pressure was high. I wanted to prove myself. I knew I could do it in a matter of time. Obviously, a driver can make mistakes in their rookie season, but with all the doubts I had, I felt like there was no room for me to make mistakes. I needed to build up and just get there. I’m glad that everything turned around for the first race in Bahrain [where Guanyu got points on debut]. That was a massive pressure off, that in-lap after the checkered flag was the biggest relief I had for years.

Zhou, who embraces fashion in the paddock, says he hopes to design his own clothes one day.  / Courtesy of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake

SI: You mentioned earlier that you love fashion. You rocked up to the Austin paddock wearing some awesome clothes. Where did that love come from, because you’re up there with the likes of Lewis Hamilton as most stylish in the paddock.

ZG: Thanks. It was always there with me. Like I said, it seems since I was a kid I always loved design stuff. Loved art, loved drawing things, hoping one day I could wear my own-designed clothes. That’s definitely in the plan. Maybe when I finished my F1 career, at the end of that. Something like that is always with me, so all the clothes I pick are kind of just my own opinion. Of course you have sponsors, you have to wear certain brands, but I don’t have a clothes set or someone who does all that fit for me. I don’t like that, because that doesn’t feel real. I just want to be the real me, but I’m just glad everybody enjoys it. What I wore [in Austin] was the first ever try for me. Yeah, my fashion is a bit different than that, but I was just sticking with the culture and I enjoyed it.

SI: F1 is returning to China next year, the first time since the pandemic. You’re confirmed to be racing at Alfa Romeo for another year in 2024 alongside teammate Valtteri Bottas. That’s surely going to be an epic event for you?

ZG: The last event I had there, I was still an academy driver. My memory from that 2019 race was already quite special as I was there doing F1 demos and donuts, showing the city of Shanghai. I had never expected that in my life because it was already in the city center of the busiest road, that was crazy. Also nervous, but then I also did a demonstration before the 1,000th Grand Prix started, so a lot of memories.

SI: Finally, you featured a lot in the most recent series of Netflix’s Drive To Survive. Especially your dramatic crash at Silverstone, which felt like it was featured in almost every episode. Have you watched it, and how have you found the filming for it?

ZG: My real answer is I haven’t really watched it, yet. Of course, I saw my clip of the crash because a lot of people said that, but I don’t actually watch the details. If it’s something that was a highlight kind of a thing, you have to go behind the scenes. But that is something I don’t want to rewind on, I just want to forget what happened. Even though some of the stories are a bit more dramatic than what actually happens, I feel that it’s a good platform at the end of the day to make F1 more famous. It is a sport, and a business and has been growing in this paddock. I don’t know what will be our next series? Something positive, obviously, not just crashing!