How F1’s sole rookie of 2022 proved his critics wrong

The ‘pay driver’ tag left Zhou Guanyu facing depressing abuse. But China’s first F1 driver put it all behind him with a decent first season at Alfa Romeo that meant a contract extension was never in any doubt

Zhou Guanyu may have been well-prepared by modern-day standards for his rookie Formula 1 season thanks to his private testing with Alpine and three years in F2. Yet nothing could have prepared him for the challenges and surprises that came his way in 2022.

He faced racist abuse in the wake of his announcement at Alfa Romeo; he found a car that could do no more than three laps without breaking due to porpoising; and he had the most dramatic crash of the season at Silverstone when his car flipped over and ended up behind a tyre wall. But Zhou came through all of it having proved his critics wrong, raised his stock and established his place in F1.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.