Formula 1 | A touch of Yorkshire accent may come as a surprise when Valtteri Bottas’s Chinese teammate opens his mouth: “F1 was more of a dream than a goal”

Chinese Guanyu Zhou drove an “official” F1 car for the first time on Thursday as he toured the Barcelona track in the opening winter tests of the F1 season.

Valtteri Bottas teammate Zhou, 22, drove a total of 71 laps in his Alfa Romeo.

After his training run, Zhou told AFP how hard it is for a Chinese motorist to get a place in F1.

“It was more of a dream for me than a goal because of it [tallipaikka] was too far away, ”Zhou said.

“There may be a good Chinese driver in China, but if you can’t compete or win European drivers, there is no chance of getting into Formula 1.”

Zhou said that getting to compete in Europe alone is very difficult for a Chinese racer.

“I started going go-karting at the age of 8. I drove in the domestic landscape for three or four years. After winning in virtually every class, the only way forward was to move to Europe. ”

At the age of 12, Zhou moved to Sheffield in the north of England to join the karting stable. AFP points out that there is still a touch of Yorkshire accent in Zhoun’s English pronunciation.

“Europe or Britain are homes for motorsports,” Zhou says.

In 2019, Zhou joined the Renault (now Alpine) group of young drivers.

Last during the season, Zhou finished second in the F2 series and was picked up as the second driver of the Alfa Romeo stable.

There are several reasons for this, not least the money and the Chinese market. China is a growing market for F1, but it lacks its own F1 star.

Zhou ousted Alfa Romeo Antonio Giovinazzinwhich bitterly stated that the decision was purely economic.

“F1 is about emotion, talent, cars, risks, speed. But when money matters, it can be unscrupulous, ”Giovinazzi said on social media.

Zhou emphasizes that he has shown his talent.

“It doesn’t matter which country it comes from. After all, I just had to be in the top three. [F2:ssa]”Zhou says.

“To be an F1 driver, you have to be good and show your potential in everything.”

Zhou admits that happiness also has a role to play.

“Number of seats [F1:ssä] is so limited. You need to have the right timing to get to F1. It’s not quite easy. ”

Zhou will not be able to drive in front of the home crowd this season, as the race in Shanghai, where Zhou is also from, has been canceled again. Next year there should drive again.

“The atmosphere is definitely awesome. I’ve never really driven in the domestic landscape, I’ve only competed in Europe.”

Alfa Romeo has no big goals for this season and last season was almost a pancake: Kimi Raikkonen and Giovinazzi received a total of three World Championship points.

“My goal for the season is to get some World Championship points. It would be great. Time trials must also be taken care of well. It all depends on how well we work as a team. ”