Zhou: I would invite Fernando and Oscar to my dream team

Before the Chinese Grand Prix, journalists from the championship’s official website spoke with Guanyu Zhou, a Sauber driver, and the conversation was not only about sports matters, but was mainly devoted to universal topics.

Q: Can you somehow describe yourself in a few words?
Guanyu Zhou: First of all, I am a Formula 1 driver. Secondly, I love fashion. And perhaps I will add that I am the only representative of China at the World Cup.

Question: How did you come to fall in love with Formula 1?
Guanyu Zhou: I think I fell in love with it because of the intensity of the passions, the speed, the sound of racing engines, the fact that every driver is fighting and trying to regain a split second on the track. Formula 1 is very different from other sports.

In general, our championship is characterized by a very strong team spirit, because more than 600 people work at the Sauber base alone, and in general there can be 1000 employees in the team, and they all work for just two drivers.

Question: When was the first time you drove a car in your life?
Guanyu Zhou: When I was seven years old, I rode a go-kart for the first time. By European standards this is already quite late, but for us, born in China, this is quite early.

Q: And from that moment on you became interested in racing?

Guanyu Zhou: I liked it a lot. Although before I got behind the wheel of a go-kart it was a bit scary, because for the first time I had to push the pedals and drive alone. It seemed to me that I could not cope, but when I sat down on the chair, I was delighted from the first second.

Question: Since when did you pass the driver’s license exam?
Guanyu Zhou: From the first! In China it is much more difficult compared to Europe because we have to take two separate driving tests and two written theory exams.

Question: Who is your best friend in the paddock and who is outside the paddock?
Guanyu Zhou: But can’t this coincide? I would say one of my best friends is Oscar Piastri. Fernando Alonso is also part of this circle, sometimes we also have fun off the track. Although this is more difficult now. We play for different teams and the season schedule is very tight. But I probably have the most fun with these two drivers.

Question: Which three people from the world of Formula 1 would you invite to dinner?
Guanyu Zhou: Oscar, Fernando and Valtteri Bottas.

Question: If you were organizing your dream team, which riders would you invite?
Guanyu Zhou: If I had a dream team, I would invite Fernando to it. This may sound boring, but I would invite Oscar too. I don’t want there to be two champions. Let there be one world champion and one rising star.

Question: What a good combination…
Guanyu Zhou: Moreover, this arrangement saves your budget: you don’t have to pay so much!

Question: If you were to go on holiday with another rider, who would it be and why?
Guanyu Zhou: Maybe Valtteri. In my opinion, he is always cheerful, always in a good mood, and besides, he has probably already visited the places I am going, so he can be my guide. He’s always having fun, sometimes does crazy things, and it’s fun to watch him.

Q: Are you impressed by his activity on social networks?
Guanyu Zhou: I don’t follow it that closely, but Valtteri seems to enjoy sharing all kinds of interesting things with the public. Of course he cycles a lot, but there are also all kinds of nice posts that interest me!

Question: If you could put together a musical group from the racers, who would you invite, and what would the group be called?
Guanyu Zhou: Let’s start with the fact that I would call those for whom English is not their native language, because if in each verse a few lines are sung in their native language, it will become quite funny! I would become one of the participants myself and also invite Yuki Tsunoda and probably Max Verstappen. And also Daniel Ricciardo!

I understand that English is his native language, but the Australian accent has its own characteristics. I think it wouldn’t be a group, but a dream!

Q: Any ideas on the title?
Guanyu Zhou: I think I’ll call it Tiger Nationals. I have something like a nickname: “Shanghai Tiger”, so let’s call this ensemble Tiger Nationals, because it has an international composition.

Question: Let’s create a menu with your favorite dishes?
Guanyu Zhou: I would choose a hot pot: this is a Chinese stew made from meat and vegetables. In China we don’t eat starters, only a main course and a dessert. If you choose from cuisines from different countries, I would put mozzarella and carpaccio on the menu as a starter and something Chinese as a main course.

Question: How many languages ​​do you speak?
Guanyu Zhou: On two. To be precise, apparently two and a half. In Chinese, English and a little Italian.

Q: What was the best advice you ever received and what was the worst?
Guanyu Zhou: I think I have remembered the best advice. Alonso has given me similar advice in recent years. In 2021 I had to do my first Friday training behind the wheel of his car in Austria. And Fernando then said: “Relax and try to enjoy flying.”

It was really nice to hear this from my childhood idol when I got behind the wheel of his car for the first time and was very nervous. But after that I felt much calmer and was ready to work on the track.

As for the worst advice… it was probably given to me by a coach when I first started in motorsports. It was raining and about to get tough, and this coach took a walk around the track and said, “Try to do your best on the first lap.” And I flew into the wall, causing the car to crash.

You can’t advise anyone to give everything on the first lap, especially not on a city circuit. I learned then that this kind of advice is not worth listening to.

Q: What’s the strangest gift you’ve received from fans?
Guanyu Zhou: You have to think… The strangest gift I received was not from the fans, but from one of the championship drivers – last year from Charles Leclerc. He had completely forgotten that he was going to play the role of Santa Claus, so at the last minute he grabbed the calendar that my partner, Valtteri Bottas, had published. And I already had three of these calendars!

Question: What is your proudest achievement in Formula 1?
Guanyu Zhou: I think it was two years ago in Bahrain when I scored my first points in Formula 1. I never expected that I could finish in the top ten in my debut race. Moreover, these were the first points earned by a driver from China.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in motorsports?
Guanyu Zhou: What I would say is this: if you really love motorsport, you have to try to take every opportunity, every opportunity, make some sacrifices for it, and you have to work hard. Most of this work happens behind the scenes, and not in front of television cameras.

You just have to put in a lot of effort, work harder than everyone else, and then maybe one day you can become a Formula 1 driver.

Question: What would you like to be doing in five years?
Guanyu Zhou: I think I will still race in Formula 1. Every driver dreams of this in his youth, and I really love this sport. That’s why I want to stay in the championship and let’s hope I can compete in Formula 1 until the end of my career!