Zhou, an eventful first half of the season for a rookie

Being the only rookie on the grid, Guanyu-Zhou knew he was going to be under pressure from the first Grands Prix. Where some might have failed, the Chinese immediately stood out by scoring his first point in his first race in Formula 1 in Bahrain. With this weight less on his shoulders, the rookie then continued his progress until he silenced certain criticisms that appeared during his appointment at Alfa Romeo. So when it comes time to take stock of his season, the 23-year-old driver can only be satisfied with his first half.

« Looking back, I'm quite impressed with the work I've done, and also the progression I've been able to make from Bahrain and beyond. For 11 or 10 races, I felt like I had experienced everything an F1 driver has to experience in 10 years,” says Guanyu Zhou at the Formula 1 website. But this season, the Alfa Romeo driver mainly stood out at Silverstone with his very big accident at the start of the Grand Prix. “ I had quite a few reliability problems which forced me to abandon several races but that's part of the game and after that, having such a big accident at the start of my career is not the most pleasant thing. », Explains the Chinese.

Big scare at Silverstone 

Like all drivers racing in single-seaters powered by Ferrari, Guanyu Zhou can't hide his disappointment. “ I really think we would have scored more points if we hadn't had so many retirements, underlines the 23-year-old pilot. But we were able to at least tick off the objectives; we reached Q3, scoring points twice, so I am happy and we are showing good speed and dynamics for the future »

If he has only managed to score points twice this season, the Alfa Romeo driver owes it in part to his difficulties in qualifying. “ Overall I'm pretty happy. Especially the fact of going to Q3. This is really a big surprise for me, because I didn't think I would have many opportunities to do this in the first year. So it was a good result, a good boost for the future. But on the other hand, I feel like my expectations are getting higher and higher, because even though it's still difficult, if I'm out in Q1, I'm still very upset now. If it was the start of the year I would feel good, but now I feel like Q2 is still my minimum goal, even if the gaps are very tight», Announces Guanyu Zhou.

Zhou confident for 2023

With a contract that ends in 2022, Guanyu Zhou still does not know if he will be confirmed at Alfa Romeo next season. However, given his performances, it is difficult to imagine the Hinwil team without his services. For his part, the rookie remains confident in his abilities to get a seat in 2023. “ Right now, I don't feel like I need to worry about next year. I think in general I'm not too worried about what's going to happen next year, whether I'm in the seat or not, because I think if I continue like this, if I continue to improve race after race, I don't see why I wouldn't stay here ", says Guanyu Zhou. The Chinese driver can rest assured, according to our information, the rookie's future should look good at Alfa Romeo in 2023. 

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