Why 2021 is make-or-break for the driver F1 needs

Facing a make-or-break, career-defining season at the age of 21 seems absurd, but that prospect awaits Guanyu Zhou as his quest to become China’s first Formula 1 driver reaches a crucial stage.

This weekend, on the Bahrain Grand Prix undercard, he kicks off his third season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and, by his own admission, this is realistically his last in the category.

“To be honest, I feel this is going to be the last year [in F2], and I’m sure I can do well if I manage to put everything together,” he says. “The key is to have a good year in F2 and that should open quite a lot of doors for me.”

Those doors, he hopes, will be of the F1 variety. Zhou’s story is an interesting one, and the UNI Virtuosi driver is well placed for F1 should he be in the top three overall come the Abu Dhabi F2 season finale in December. He already has the backing of the Alpine F1 team as its official test driver for a second year, and is well entrenched in the team’s academy system.

“It [the test driver role] is quite important,” he says. “In the previous years I got a lot of time in the simulator, and to be driving a two-year-old [F1] car gives me more preparation, so when I have the opportunity to go up I am more than ready.”

It has been some journey to this point for a driver known to many simply as ‘Joe’. He claims to feel ‘half-English’, having been whisked away from his native Shanghai, China to Sheffield, UK aged 12 to pursue his F1 dream. This came off the back of being spotted as a rising star at the Shanghai Kart Club by former HRT and Caterham F1 test driver and touring car star Ma Qing Hua.

Guanyu Zhou, Renault Sport Academy Bahrain testing 2020

Photo by: Renault F1

A decade on, Zhou has progressed through the Formula 4 and Formula 3 ranks and now finds himself within sight of the ultimate goal, and perhaps a successful season in F2 could be the final check box. Since his debut F2 season in 2019, he’s witnessed Nicolas Latifi (Williams), last year’s F2 champion Mick Schumacher (Haas), Nikita Mazepin (Haas) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) graduate from F2 to the promised land.

PLUS: What to expect from F1's rookie trio in 2021

After finishing seventh overall in his rookie F2 year, sixth last season came as a disappointment, but it could have been so much better had mechanical issues not struck at the worst possible moments.

“Last season was actually pretty eventful and a little bit stressful,” Zhou recounts. “We didn’t get to show our full potential as we had technical issues with the engine and the gearbox so we had some DNFs due to those problems.

"It’s going to be quite a close fight, to be honest. Obviously I’m hoping we don’t take each other out in the races, but we will definitely be racing hard against each other” Guanyu Zhou

“One of them [at the Red Bull Ring] I was leading, and the other was in a podium position going for the win [at Monza]. We lost so many points, and at the end of the day it was a tight championship. It was a year in which I learnt a lot about myself.”

Even so, everything seems to be in place for Zhou to shine in 2021 in the familiar surroundings at UNI Virtuosi, but it won’t be easy. The championship is stacked with talent, and features drivers of the calibre of Ferrari Driver Academy duo Robert Shwartzman (Prema Racing), who won more races than last year’s champion Schumacher, and Marcus Armstrong (DAMS). Carlin’s new Williams-affiliated signing Dan Ticktum will also pose a threat.

Then there’s the battle within the Alpine Academy: arguably Zhou’s biggest challenge is seeing off his fellow proteges Christian Lundgaard (ART) and reigning F3 champion Oscar Piastri (Prema) to convince the Anglo-French F1 squad that he’s the one for the future.

PLUS: Why Piastri's F3 title was better than results suggested

“It’s going to be a very important year,” says Zhou. “I think this year again will see the top 10 drivers be super-strong and close together. I’m ready to hit my target of challenging for the title. All of us [at the Alpine Academy] are very good drivers. I think it’s going to be quite a close fight, to be honest. Obviously I’m hoping we don’t take each other out in the races, but we will definitely be racing hard against each other.”

Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Is there any extra pressure from the high-flying Piastri joining the academy’s F2 ranks?

“Not really,” says Zhou. “At the end of the day we are trying to do our jobs. If you do your job right I’m sure you can finish ahead of them, so it’s all about putting all the small details together for yourself and I’m sure the results will come.”

If overcoming his rivals on track wasn’t difficult enough, he will also have to master the championship’s new three-race weekend format, featuring reversed grids in the two Saturday sprint races.

“You have to be consistent,” he says. “You have to make sure that you put the car in the top 10 for qualifying, even if you don’t have a car good enough for pole. In this championship you can go pretty well if you have good racecraft, you can stay there with the guy that has had the perfect weekend and hang in there in the points.

“It opens up opportunities if you can be consistent. I think that’s definitely going to be the key. If you have a DNF, especially in race one with the new format, you’ve pretty much ruined your second race as well.”

Winning the Asian F3 title last month has not only boosted his confidence, but also earned Zhou crucial superlicence points that will ensure wherever he finishes in F2 this year, he will meet the criterion of 40 points for the all-important F1 paperwork. But while that was a case of thinking ahead, he maintains that his full focus is on this year.

“The main target was to get these points for the superlicence, and I have that now and I’m just fully focused on F2,” he says. “There is no pressure for taking points, but I have to show myself and be really fast, and show what I’m capable of doing.”

Guanyu Zhou, Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema, wins F3 Asian Championship

Photo by: F3 Asian Championship

Virtuosi team boss Andy Roche has witnessed his driver grow into a future F1 star over two years at his Norfolk-based team, but admits that this year he has to deliver.

“His one-lap pace is there and his race pace is there, too. He’s ready to win, for sure” Andy Roche

“This year is hugely important to him,” he says. “He really impressed me at the [pre-season] test. He seemed a lot more laid-back and up for it. It’s his last chance, to be honest with you, to win that championship – he can’t stay another year, can he? He needs to get it done.

Could Zhou race in F1?

“Definitely, without a doubt,” fires back Roche. “His one-lap pace is there and his race pace is there, too. He’s ready to win, for sure.”

Should Zhou succeed in all those challenges this year, graduation to F1 is not a given, such is the difficulty of breaking into motorsport’s pinnacle. It can all come down to timing and opportunity. But now is definitely the time for Zhou to make the most of his opportunity.

Race Winner Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi celebrates on the podium with the trophy

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images