Meet Guanyu Zhou, Formula One's first-ever Chinese driver

Poppy Shen
·Video Producer
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“From being a kid who knows nothing about racing to now sitting in a car in the Grand Prix, it’s quite special.”

We chatted with Formula 1's newest star Guanyu Zhou on his passion for racing and the exciting future ahead.

Video Transcript

GUANYU ZHOU: I'm super proud to be the first of many. The first one to represent your nation. For me, speed was never a fear for me, myself. I always loved to go as fast as I could.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm Guanyu Zhou, 22-years old from Shanghai, China, and I'm a Formula One driver for Alfa Romeo [INAUDIBLE] racing.

Motorsports has been in my DNA. I'm just so in love with speed.

[ENGINE REVVING]

Cars.

Noise.

I always loved to go as fast as I could. I got a phone call from a manager, and he told me, yeah. You're going to be F1 next year. It doesn't feel real. It's something I dreamed about, and something I knew that I'm very close to reach it, but also, far to achieve it. I started carting in Shanghai in China. And after I won pretty much everything that was out there, I knew that I have to move to Europe because that's the way the home of the Motorsports are. Then I basically won the British Championship.

European ones weren't carting so we moved to Formula 4 in 2015. Finished P2 in the F4 Championship first year, and then we moved up to [INAUDIBLE], spent a few years there, and this is the year that I was finally managing to put everything together. Just very happy to be leading the championship. Finished top screen with four wins, including nine podiums.

The first Grand Prix I watched was actually 2004. The first ever Chinese Grand Prix. It was very noisy, and while I heared the sounds, I just felt very pumped up. Some of the people who was racing there like Fernando still racing now. He was my idol, my hero, and I'm racing against him next year. I'm just very happy that, after so many years, for a kid who knows nothing about racing, and then to now, that kid will be sitting in a car in the Grand Prix is quite special.

My advice will be that, if you have a dream, and then try to chase it But, you know, the dream is always 10 times harder than you think. You have to be always trusting in yourself, believe. I think just never give up, and that's the way how you can be success, or maybe you can reach in the end.