Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu
Born (1999-05-30) 30 May 1999 (age 24)
Shanghai, China
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityChina Chinese
2024 teamKick Sauber-Ferrari
Car number24
Entries47 (47 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points12
Pole positions0
Fastest laps2
First entry2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last entry2024 Australian Grand Prix
2023 position18th (6 points)
Previous series
201921
2021
201618
2016
2015
2015
FIA Formula 2 Championship
F3 Asian Championship
FIA F3 European Championship
Toyota Racing Series
Italian Formula 4 Championship
ADAC Formula 4
Championship titles
2021F3 Asian Championship
Awards
2022
2019
Autosport Rookie of the Year
Anthoine Hubert Award
Zhou on the grid of an ADAC F4 race at Spa

Zhou Guanyu (Chinese: 周冠宇; pinyin: Zhōu Guànyǔ, pronounced [ʈʂóʊ kwân.ỳ]; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. He is the first, and so far the only, Chinese driver to start a World Championship Formula One race. He competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Virtuosi Racing from 2019 to 2021, having finished 3rd in the 2021 campaign.

A former member of the Alpine Academy, he served as the test driver for the Renault F1 Team and the Alpine F1 Team in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Prior to that, he was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy 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 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 and Jehan Daruvala.

Formula 4

Zhou joined Prema Powerteam for the 2015 Italian F4 Championship. 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 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

Zhou at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round

2019

In December 2018, Zhou joined UNI-Virtuosi Racing along with Luca Ghiotto 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. In the feature race at Silverstone, he lost positions to his teammate and race winner Luca Ghiotto and the second-place driver Nicholas Latifi. 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 Award for being the highest-finishing rookie.

2020

Zhou remained at UNI-Virtuosi for the 2020 season, partnering Ferrari Driver Academy member Callum Ilott. 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

Zhou with UNI-Virtuosi in 2021
Zhou at the 2021 Silverstone Formula 2 round

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 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 in the first lap of the second race in Azerbaijan and a spin in the first sprint race at Silverstone allowing fellow academy member Oscar Piastri 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 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 while competing in karting. He left the academy at the end of 2018 and joined the Renault Sport Academy the following year ahead of his move into Formula 2. 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—and won the first race held at the Bahrain International Circuit. Once the 2020 season resumed, Zhou took part in three test sessions driving the Renault R.S.18, including the post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit alongside Fernando Alonso. Zhou remained part of the rebranded Alpine Academy for 2021 and made his Formula One race weekend debut for Alpine F1 Team, driving the A521 during the first practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix. This made him the second driver from Mainland China to participate in a Grand Prix weekend session after Ma Qinghua.

Alfa Romeo (2022–2023)

2022

Zhou at the 2022 British Grand Prix

Zhou signed with Alfa Romeo for the 2022 Formula One season, partnering Valtteri Bottas 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 career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He qualified fifteenth on his debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix, 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 eliminated him from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint, which was followed by mechanical retirements at the Miami and Spanish Grands Prix. A hydraulics issue at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix caused his third retirement in four races. At the Canadian Grand Prix, 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 British Grand Prix, 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 saved his life during the crash.

More mechanical problems followed; he was required to start the Austrian Grand Prix sprint from the pit lane after an engine issue on the formation lap, and another power unit issue caused his retirement from the French Grand Prix. He scored another point by finishing tenth at the Italian Grand Prix, which ended behind the safety car. A collision with Nicholas Latifi ended his race at the Singapore Grand Prix. He finished sixteenth at the rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix, but a late pit stop for new tyres allowed him to claim the fastest lap for the first time in his career. Zhou ended the season eighteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with six points to teammate Bottas's 49.

2023

Zhou at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix

Zhou remained with Alfa Romeo for 2023 alongside Bottas. During the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, he set the fastest lap time of 1:31.610. He qualified thirteenth at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and finished sixteenth, having made a pit stop for soft tyres on the penultimate lap to claim the fastest lap of the race. Alfa Romeo later explained that this was done to deny rivals Alpine and ninth-placed Pierre Gasly the bonus point. Zhou claimed his first points-scoring finish of the season at the Australian Grand Prix with ninth place, having started seventeenth. This was followed by a mechanical retirement at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He scored points again at the Spanish Grand Prix, starting thirteenth and finishing ninth. He achieved his best Formula One qualifying performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix, setting the fastest Q1 time and then qualifying fifth. He was slow off the start line and was then involved in a first-corner collision for which he received a time penalty; he went on to finish the race sixteenth.

Zhou started fifteenth on the grid at the Dutch Grand Prix but a call to change to intermediate tyres after lap one promoted him as high as second place. He eventually dropped outside the top ten and later crashed out of the race when the rain returned. Zhou qualified nineteenth at the Singapore Grand Prix and was required to start from the pit lane as his car was modified in parc fermé. Despite "unfortunate" safety car timing, he recovered to twelfth after "an epic stint on the medium tyres". Zhou qualified last on the grid at the Qatar Grand Prix, but benefitted from Carlos Sainz Jr.'s failure to start, a collision between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and other drivers' struggles with the extreme heat to take ninth place in the main race, his third points finish of the season. He reached Q3 in qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix, but was unable to hold off the cars behind and was classified fourteenth at the finish. He qualified in last place at the São Paulo Grand Prix and retired from the race with engine issues.

Zhou finished eighteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with six points, an identical result to 2022. Teammate Bottas scored ten points and qualified ahead of Zhou at fifteen of the twenty-two races. Autosport praised Zhou for "holding his own" against Bottas but identified qualifying as an area for improvement, and RaceFans described his performance in 2023 as "professional if unspectacular".

Sauber (2024)

2024

Zhou and Bottas were retained at the team for the 2024 season. Following the end of the partnership with Alfa Romeo, the team rebranded to accommodate the sponsorship of Stake.com and Kick. Zhou is due to race in his home city of Shanghai for the first time in April as the Chinese Grand Prix returns to the calendar.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2010 Kartmasters British Grand Prix — Rotax Mini Max 14th
2011 Trent Valley Kart Club — Mini Max 10th
2012 Kartmasters British Grand Prix — Rotax Junior Strawberry Racing 6th
Super 1 National Championship — Rotax Mini Max 4th
Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Junior Strawberry Racing 8th
Rotax International Open — Junior 6th
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Junior RPM Racing Team 8th
2013 Rotax Max Wintercup — Rotax Max Junior Strawberry Racing 2nd
Super 1 National Championship — Rotax Max Junior 1st
Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Junior 1st
Rotax International Open — Junior 3rd
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Junior 3rd
2014 Rotax Max Wintercup — Rotax Max Senior Strawberry Racing 2nd
South Garda Winter Cup — KF 12th
WSK Champions Cup — KF 32nd
WSK Super Master Series — KF 27th
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipKF Ricky Flynn Motorsport 44th
Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Senior Strawberry Racing 2nd
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipKF Ricky Flynn Motorsport NC
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Senior Strawberry Racing 16th

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2014 Italian F4 Winter Trophy Prema Powerteam 2 0 0 0 2 N/A N/A
2015 Italian F4 Championship Prema Powerteam 21 3 2 0 9 223 2nd
ADAC Formula 4 Championship 9 0 0 0 2 45 15th
2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Motopark 30 0 0 0 2 101 13th
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 1 0 N/A 16th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 15th
Toyota Racing Series M2 Competition 15 1 0 1 4 685 6th
2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Prema Powerteam 30 0 0 0 5 149 8th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 8th
2017–18 Formula E Techeetah Development driver
2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Prema Theodore Racing 30 2 3 1 6 203 8th
Macau Grand Prix SJM Theodore Racing by Prema 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 11th
2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship UNI-Virtuosi Racing 22 0 1 2 5 140 7th
2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship UNI-Virtuosi Racing 24 1 1 4 6 151.5 6th
Formula One Renault DP World F1 Team Test driver
2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship UNI-Virtuosi Racing 22 4 1 1 9 183 3rd
F3 Asian Championship Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 15 4 5 5 11 257 1st
Formula One Alpine F1 Team Test driver
2022 Formula One Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen 22 0 0 1 0 6 18th
2023 Formula One Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 22 0 0 1 0 6 18th
2024 Formula One Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber 3 0 0 0 0 0* 16th*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2015 Prema Powerteam VLL
1

4
VLL
2

8
VLL
3

2
MNZ
1

1
MNZ
2

1
MNZ
3

1
IMO1
1

2
IMO1
2

Ret
IMO1
3

2
MUG
1

6
MUG
2

5
MUG
3

6
ADR
1

2
ADR
2

15
ADR
3

3
IMO2
1

3
IMO2
2

5
IMO2
3

5
MIS
1

8
MIS
2

20
MIS
3

13
2nd 223

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2015 Prema Powerteam OSC1
1

28
OSC1
2

9
OSC1
3

18
RBR
1

3
RBR
2

7
RBR
3

Ret
SPA
1

2
SPA
2

Ret
SPA
3

9
LAU
1
LAU
2
LAU
3
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
NÜR
3
SAC
1
SAC
2
SAC
3
OSC2
1
OSC2
2
OSC2
3
HOC
1
HOC
2
HOC
3
15th 45

Complete Toyota Racing Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2016 M2 Competition RUA
1

5
RUA
2

3
RUA
3

4
TER
1

7
TER
2

6
TER
3

8
HMP
1

7
HMP
2

1
HMP
3

4
TAU
1

4
TAU
2

3
TAU
3

3
MAU
1

Ret
MAU
2

10
MAU
3

17
6th 685

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points
2016 Motopark Volkswagen LEC
1

14
LEC
2

3
LEC
3

8
HUN
1

8
HUN
2

3
HUN
3

4
PAU
1

11
PAU
2

Ret
PAU
3

Ret
RBR
1

14
RBR
2

11
RBR
3

7
NOR
1

Ret
NOR
2

6
NOR
3

4
ZAN
1

16
ZAN
2

18
ZAN
3

16
SPA
1

17
SPA
2

8
SPA
3

11
NÜR
1

12
NÜR
2

12
NÜR
3

12
IMO
1

6
IMO
2

5
IMO
3

10
HOC
1

11
HOC
2

13
HOC
3

11
13th 101
2017 Prema Powerteam Mercedes SIL
1

7
SIL
2

7
SIL
3

Ret
MNZ
1

5
MNZ
2

6
MNZ
3

10
PAU
1

Ret
PAU
2

Ret
PAU
3

10
HUN
1

7
HUN
2

3
HUN
3

4
NOR
1

3
NOR
2

8
NOR
3

12
SPA
1

12
SPA
2

17
SPA
3

3
ZAN
1

16
ZAN
2

8
ZAN
3

4
NÜR
1

9
NÜR
2

14
NÜR
3

Ret
RBR
1

9
RBR
2

19
RBR
3

14
HOC
1

13
HOC
2

3
HOC
3

3
8th 149
2018 Prema Theodore Racing Mercedes PAU
1

1
PAU
2

12
PAU
3

13
HUN
1

2
HUN
2

4
HUN
3

5
NOR
1

9
NOR
2

12
NOR
3

4
ZAN
1

2
ZAN
2

3
ZAN
3

2
SPA
1

Ret
SPA
2

Ret
SPA
3

13
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

6
SIL
3

8
MIS
1

4
MIS
2

11
MIS
3

Ret
NÜR
1

7
NÜR
2

8
NÜR
3

8
RBR
1

12
RBR
2

9
RBR
3

11
HOC
1

1
HOC
2

10
HOC
3

5
8th 203

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race
2016 Germany Motopark Dallara F312 20th DNF 15th
2017 Italy Prema Powerteam Dallara F317 10th 10th 8th
2018 Italy SJM Theodore Racing by Prema Dallara F317 5th 24th 11th

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position points) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap points)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2019 UNI-Virtuosi Racing BHR
FEA

10
BHR
SPR

4
BAK
FEA

Ret
BAK
SPR

10
CAT
FEA

3
CAT
SPR

4
MON
FEA

5
MON
SPR

3
LEC
FEA

4
LEC
SPR

3
RBR
FEA

6
RBR
SPR

8
SIL
FEA

3
SIL
SPR

8
HUN
FEA

9
HUN
SPR

9
SPA
FEA

C
SPA
SPR

C
MNZ
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

4
SOC
FEA

10
SOC
SPR

5
YMC
FEA

3
YMC
SPR

8
7th 140
2020 UNI-Virtuosi Racing RBR1
FEA

17
RBR1
SPR

14
RBR2
FEA

3
RBR2
SPR

4
HUN
FEA

10
HUN
SPR

8
SIL1
FEA

2
SIL1
SPR

9
SIL2
FEA

9
SIL2
SPR

7
CAT
FEA

3
CAT
SPR

14
SPA
FEA

7
SPA
SPR

3
MNZ
FEA

5
MNZ
SPR

NC
MUG
FEA

Ret
MUG
SPR

5
SOC
FEA

8
SOC
SPR

1‡
BHR1
FEA

14
BHR1
SPR

5
BHR2
FEA

2
BHR2
SPR

4
6th 151.5
2021 UNI-Virtuosi Racing BHR
SP1

7
BHR
SP2

3
BHR
FEA

1
MCO
SP1

1
MCO
SP2

15
MCO
FEA

5
BAK
SP1

3
BAK
SP2

Ret
BAK
FEA

13
SIL
SP1

Ret
SIL
SP2

11
SIL
FEA

1
MNZ
SP1

2
MNZ
SP2

8
MNZ
FEA

2
SOC
SP1

DNS
SOC
SP2

C
SOC
FEA

6
JED
SP1

17
JED
SP2

8
JED
FEA

4‡
YMC
SP1

8
YMC
SP2

1
YMC
FEA

2
3rd 183

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)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2021 Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema DUB
1

1
DUB
2

1
DUB
3

Ret
ABU
1

2
ABU
2

4
ABU
3

5
ABU
1

3
ABU
2

2
ABU
3

2
DUB
1

2
DUB
2

2
DUB
3

4
ABU
1

1
ABU
2

2
ABU
3

1
1st 257

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 WDC Points
2021 Alpine F1 Team Alpine A521 Renault E-Tech 20B 1.6 V6 t BHR EMI POR ESP MON AZE FRA STY AUT
TD
GBR HUN BEL NED ITA RUS TUR USA MXC SAP QAT SAU ABU
2022 Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen Alfa Romeo C42 Ferrari 066/7 1.6 V6 t BHR
10
SAU
11
AUS
11
EMI
15
MIA
Ret
ESP
Ret
MON
16
AZE
Ret
CAN
8
GBR
Ret
AUT
14
FRA
16†
HUN
13
BEL
14
NED
16
ITA
10
SIN
Ret
JPN
16
USA
12
MXC
13
SAP
12
ABU
12
18th 6
2023 Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Alfa Romeo C43 Ferrari 066/10 1.6 V6 t BHR
16
SAU
13
AUS
9
AZE
Ret
MIA
16
MON
13
ESP
9
CAN
16
AUT
12
GBR
15
HUN
16
BEL
13
NED
Ret
ITA
14
SIN
12
JPN
13
QAT
9
USA
13
MXC
14
SAP
Ret
LVG
15
ABU
17
18th 6
2024 Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber Kick Sauber C44 Ferrari 066/12 1.6 V6 t BHR
11
SAU
18
AUS
15
JPN
CHN
MIA
EMI
MON
CAN
ESP
AUT
GBR
HUN
BEL
NED
ITA
AZE
SIN
USA
MXC
SAP
LVG
QAT
ABU
16th* 0*

Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
* Season still in progress.


This page was last updated at 2024-03-28 01:27 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari