![Guanyu Zhou ADAC Formel 4 2015 Spa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Guanyu_Zhou_ADAC_Formel_4_2015_Spa.jpg)
Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese
racing driver who currently competes in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
for
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
. He is the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. He competed in the
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the l ...
for
UNI-Virtuosi Racing from 2019 to 2021, having finished 3rd in the
2021 campaign.
A former member of the
Alpine Academy
The Alpine Academy – formerly known as the RF1 Driver Programme, Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy – is a program to support young racing drivers through their careers. The programme was created by Renault F1 in 2002.
In ...
, he served as the test driver for the
Renault F1 Team and the
Alpine F1 Team
Alpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault ...
in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Prior to that, he was a member of the
Ferrari Driver Academy
Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...
from 2014 to 2018, and served as the development driver for
Formula E team
DS Techeetah in 2018.
Early career
Karting
Having started karting when he was eight years old in China, Zhou moved to
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
in 2012 for a more competitive racing environment. In 2013 racing with the Sheffield-based Strawberry Racing team, he won both the Super 1 National Rotax Max Junior Championship and Rotax Max Euro Challenge. For his final year of karting, Zhou finished 2nd in the Rotax Max Senior Euro Challenge and participated in selected rounds of WSK Champions Cup and the KF2 European Championship. He also made his first and only appearance in the
Karting World Championship, driving for Ricky Flynn Motorsport alongside
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (born 13 November 1999) is a Belgian-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag. He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Form ...
and
Jehan Daruvala
Jehan Daruvala (born 1 October 1998) is an Indian racing driver currently serving as a reserve driver for the Mahindra Racing Formula E team. He was a protégé of the Force India F1 team, after being one of three winners of a 'One in a Billio ...
.
Formula 4
Zhou joined Prema Powerteam for the
2015 Italian F4 Championship
The 2015 Italian F4 Championship was the second season of the Italian Formula 4 Championship. It began on 3 May in Vallelunga and finished on 4 October in Misano after seven triple header rounds.
Teams and drivers
Race calendar and results
The ...
. After winning all three races in Round 2 at Monza and consistently finishing on the podium, Zhou ended the season as vice-champion and best rookie. He also competed in selected rounds of the German ADAC F4 Championship, achieving two podium finishes in Spielberg and Spa.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
2016
Zhou joined
team Motopark for the 2016 FIA European F3 Championship. After a successful season opener rounds in Paul Ricard and Hungaroring by finishing in 2 podium positions, Zhou struggled to find pace during the 2nd half of the season, finishing in 13th for his maiden season.
2017
Zhou stayed for a
second F3 season by rejoining Prema and improved to 8th in standings with 5 podium finishes. Season highlights included leading race 3 in Spa and holding back
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (born 13 November 1999) is a Belgian-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag. He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Form ...
in the penultimate round.
2018
After speculation of a possible move to F2, Zhou remained with Prema for a
third F3 season. After a maiden career win in Pau, a podium in Hungaroring, and three consecutive podium finishes in Zandvoort, Zhou found him standing in 2nd, just a point behind teammate Marcus Armstrong. Despite a strong qualifying pace in Spa and Silverstone, Zhou suffered 4 consecutive retirements with a series of teammate collisions and tyre punctures. Zhou won his second F3 race in Hockenheim, finishing the season 8th in the standings, with 3 poles, and 2 wins.
FIA Formula 2
![FIA F2 Austria 2019 Nr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/FIA_F2_Austria_2019_Nr._7_Zhou.jpg)
2019
In December 2018, Zhou joined
UNI-Virtuosi Racing along with
Luca Ghiotto
Luca Ghiotto (born 24 February 1995) is an Italian racing driver who most recently raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for DAMS.
Career
Karting
Born in Arzignano, Ghiotto entered karting in 2008, when he took the title in the KF3 class of ...
for the
2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Zhou achieved a maiden feature race podium in Barcelona after a strong qualifying and leading most of the race before dropping to third due to tyre degradation. He subsequently achieved another 3rd in the Monaco sprint race by overtaking
Artem Markelov at the start. At Silverstone, Zhou scored his first Formula 2
pole position, becoming the first Chinese driver to do so. Later, Zhou also scored third place in the sprint race at
Paul Ricard
Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...
. In the feature race at Silverstone, he lost positions to his teammate and race winner
Luca Ghiotto
Luca Ghiotto (born 24 February 1995) is an Italian racing driver who most recently raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for DAMS.
Career
Karting
Born in Arzignano, Ghiotto entered karting in 2008, when he took the title in the KF3 class of ...
and the second-place driver
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix a ...
. In Abu Dhabi, he also finished third with the fastest lap in Race 1. He finished seventh in the championship and was subsequently awarded the
Anthoine Hubert
Anthoine Hubert (; 22 September 1996 – 31 August 2019) was a French professional racing driver. He was the 2018 GP3 Series champion and a member of the Renault Sport Academy. He died at the age of 22, following an accident during the feature ...
Award for being the highest-finishing rookie.
2020
Zhou remained at UNI-Virtuosi for the
2020 season, partnering
Ferrari Driver Academy
Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...
member
Callum Ilott
Callum Benjamin Ilott ( ; born 11 November 1998) is a British racing driver competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He was the official reserve driver for Alfa Romeo for the 2021 Formula One World Championship season an ...
. Zhou took his second Formula 2 pole position at the opening race at the
Red Bull Ring. However, his car suffered electronic problems whilst leading the feature race, causing him to drop to 17th. Later in the year, Zhou won his first Formula 2 race in Sochi, after Aitken and Ghiotto crashed at lap 5 of the sprint race, causing a premature end of the race. Over the season, Zhou achieved 6 podiums and finished sixth in the championship.
2021
![2021 British Grand Prix (51349305176)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/2021_British_Grand_Prix_%2851349305176%29.jpg)
Zhou entered his
third F2 season staying with UNI-Virtuosi and partnering
Felipe Drugovich. He took pole position in the
opening round at Bahrain and converted the pole to his first feature race win in F2. The Chinese driver took another victory in the first sprint race in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
ahead of his team-mate Drugovich. However, after another podium in
Baku, Zhou went four races without scoring points, with a brake failure and a resulting collision with
Dan Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
in the first lap of the second race in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
and a spin in the first sprint race at
Silverstone allowing fellow academy member
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and wo ...
to take the lead in the standings. Zhou broke his duck by taking his third victory of the season in the feature race in Britain, beating out Ticktum for the victory. At the following round in
Monza Zhou was able to end up on the podium twice, losing out to
Théo Pourchaire
Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (born 20 August 2003) is a French racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for the ART Grand Prix team and the reigining Formula 2 vice-champion. He is currently a member of the ...
and Piastri in races one and three respectively. Unfortunately for the Chinese driver, he stalled his car following a spin before the first race in
Sochi and only managed to finish the feature race in sixth place, thus losing more ground to leader Piastri, who went into the penultimate round with a 36-point advantage. In Round 7 at Jeddah, he dropped to third in the standings after a spin caused by colliding with
Christian Lundgaard in the first sprint race. He bounced back in the final round at Abu Dhabi, signing off his F2 career by winning the second sprint race and finishing second in the feature race. He finished the season third in the championship, having achieved 4 wins, 1 pole and 9 podiums.
F3 Asian Championship
During the winter break before the start of the 2021 Formula 2 season, Zhou participated in the
2021 F3 Asian Championship driving for
Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema. He won the championship after achieving 4 wins, 5 poles and 11 podiums in the season.
Formula One
In 2014, Zhou joined the
Ferrari Driver Academy
Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...
while competing in karting.
He left the academy at the end of 2018 and joined the
Renault Sport Academy
The Alpine Academy – formerly known as the RF1 Driver Programme, Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy – is a program to support young racing drivers through their careers. The programme was created by Renault F1 in 2002.
In ...
the following year ahead of his move into
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...
. He served as a development driver for the
Renault F1 Team in 2019 and took part in an
R.S.17 testing programme, driving at five different circuits during the year. He was promoted to the role of Test Driver in 2020. He participated in the ''Virtual Grand Prix Series''—an
esports competition organised by Formula One in place of races postponed or cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
—and won the first race held at the
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrain ...
. Once the season resumed, Zhou took part in three test sessions driving the
Renault R.S.18, including the post-season test at
Yas Marina Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina w ...
alongside
Fernando Alonso. Zhou remained part of the rebranded
Alpine Academy
The Alpine Academy – formerly known as the RF1 Driver Programme, Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy – is a program to support young racing drivers through their careers. The programme was created by Renault F1 in 2002.
In ...
for and made his Formula One race weekend debut for
Alpine F1 Team
Alpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault ...
, driving the
A521 during the first practice session of the . This made him the second driver from
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
to participate in a race weekend after
Ma Qinghua
Ma Qinghua () (born 25 December 1987 in Shanghai) is a Chinese racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup with Cyan Performance Lynk & Co.
Ma became the first Chinese driver to win an FIA World Championship race when h ...
.
Alfa Romeo (2022–)
2022
![Guanyu Zhou 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Guanyu_Zhou_2022.jpg)
Zhou signed with
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
for the Formula One season, partnering
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, having previously driven for Mercedes from to and Williams from to . Bottas has scored race wins and podiums. H ...
and becoming China's first Formula One race driver.
In a press release following the announcement, Zhou stated that he was "well prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1" and that his entry into the series would be "a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history". He chose 24 as his permanent racing number to honour his sporting hero
Kobe Bryant, who wore the number during his
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
career with the
Los Angeles Lakers. He qualified fifteenth on his debut at the , but recovered from a poor start in the race to finish tenth, scoring a point.
Seven races without points followed. A collision with
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver, currently competing in Formula One under the French flag, racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is the 2016 GP2 Series champion, and the runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 ...
eliminated him from the sprint, which was followed by mechanical retirements at the
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Grands Prix. A hydraulics issue at the caused his third retirement in four races. At the , Zhou reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time and finished the race eighth, scoring points for the second time. At the next race, the , he was involved in a high-speed collision with
George Russell on the opening lap that caused Zhou's car to flip upside-down, skid across the track and gravel and bounce over the barriers into the catch fence.
He was extracted and taken to the medical centre, and then declared fit after being observed. Zhou later commented that the
halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
saved his life during the crash.
More mechanical problems followed; he was required to start the sprint from the pit lane after an engine issue on the formation lap, and another power unit issue caused his retirement from the . He scored another point by finishing tenth at the , which ended behind the
safety car.
A collision with
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix a ...
ended his race at the . He finished sixteenth at the rain-shortened , but a late pit stop for new tyres allowed him to claim the
fastest lap
In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some racing series, like Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula E award championship points for a driver or team that set the fastest lap.
In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point ...
for the first time in his career. Zhou ended the season eighteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with 6 points to teammate Bottas' 49.
2023
Zhou is set to remain with Alfa Romeo for alongside Bottas.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
Complete Italian F4 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Toyota Racing Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Macau Grand Prix results
Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position points) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap points)
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
Complete F3 Asian Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
References
External links
*
*
Guanyu Zhouon
Weibo
Profileat
ferrari.com
Profileat
renaultsport.com
__FORCETOC__
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Guanyu
1999 births
Living people
Chinese racing drivers
Chinese Formula One drivers
Italian F4 Championship drivers
Toyota Racing Series drivers
ADAC Formula 4 drivers
FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers
FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers
F3 Asian Championship drivers
Prema Powerteam drivers
M2 Competition drivers
Motopark Academy drivers
Virtuosi Racing drivers
Alfa Romeo Formula One drivers
Karting World Championship drivers