Zhou Guanyu admits the pressure at his home race weekend has been extreme, but he responded well in Sprint qualifying for Stake Sauber at the Chinese Grand Prix.
China’s first-ever Formula 1 driver is making his debut in front of his home crowd due to Shanghai being off the calendar for five years, despite this being his third season in the sport. Zhou duly delighted a large turnout on Friday by reaching SQ3 for the first time in his career.
“Yeah it’s a big relief,” Zhou told Sky Sports. “I’m just really happy for today. It’s a lot of pressure coming into this weekend — of course fans have high expectations like always, but first time at home, first day in the office, first time at the track, just great to be SQ3 also for my first time in my career.
“The pressure I think before the weekend was so extreme, like I never felt since the first race I did. So everyone is here to see you and you just want to do well, and that’s where normally mistakes can happen. But I’m happy with day one.”
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The laps that ensured Zhou joined teammate Valtteri Bottas in SQ3 were met with loud responses from the crowd, and he says he could hear that support ahead of each run.
Just listen to the roar! 🤩
When @ZhouGuanyu24 got through to SQ3 the crowd showed their appreciation 👏 👏 #F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/1EqZoqlfRd
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2024
“Yeah, every time before I jumped in the car, even in the garage I could see the crowd is cheering, so I’m just honored and I’m just really happy that I was able to give them some kind of result and reward them for coming here and sitting in the rain,” he said. “It’s been mixed conditions but a lot of fun out there.
“Of course (it was stressful), especially that last run in SQ3. I had no idea where the dry line was really and was just trying to figure out a lot. On the first lap I went very deep into Turn 6, so I had one lap. I was just thinking, ‘OK, let’s try to learn and just get a lap on board.’ So a lot of things to find in the rain, but the good thing is in the dry we look competitive.”
Stake has yet to score a point so far this season, with pit stop issues particularly hampering the team, but with no pit stops mandatory in the Sprint race, Zhou is targeting a top-eight finish to finally get on the board.
“If I want to score my first point of the season I’m going to pick Shanghai all day! So I’m going to give it everything — let’s see the mixed conditions, let’s make the best of it and let’s also prepare for Sunday’s race, which is the main race. But I’m just happy with the first day out there and great to have everyone there.”