Can Zhou Guanyu of China emulate Yao Ming’s success in basketball in the F1?

Zhou Guanyu, the first full-time Formula One driver from China, earns a job doing things that most people can only imagine: touring the globe and competing in fast cars.

Zhou described the exhilaration of driving at speeds above 220 mph (354 kph) and going from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds as “it’s the acceleration, the downforce, the G-force.”

He told MINIECHAT that the only difference between Formula One and a roller coaster is that you have to be in complete control of where you’re going.

Since he was a young child growing up in Shanghai, Zhou has given driving his all. He is now seen as the F1 equivalent of Yao Ming, the NBA star from China who is often credited with popularizing basketball in his own country.

Rubens Barrichello defeated his idol Fernando Alonso to win the first Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai in 2004 when Zhou was only 5 years old. He said that the experience helped him sustain his passion in racing and has been with him ever since.

Every time I had a special occasion, like a birthday, Zhou remembered, “I’d ask my parents to bring me a miniature vehicle that I could play with around the couch at my home.”

After a few years, we really replaced the couch since the leather was becoming damaged. I was really pushing it, letting my mind race,” he said.

Zhou’s inventiveness won out. Because there weren’t many Chinese racing role models, he made his own way.

Not long after the first Chinese Grand Prix, he started competing in go-karting, where many famous drivers learned the ropes while still young F1 aspirants. He began racing competitively at the age of 8.

At the age of 12, he left Shanghai for Sheffield, England, to pursue his racing career with the Strawberry Racing Karting team. This was a turning point in his career.

Although the transition from the most populated metropolis in China to a relatively tranquil region of northern England required a significant amount of adjustment—not the least of which was the fact that at the time he knew no English—it set him on the path to achieving his goals.

He had early success, winning the Super 1 National Rotax Max Junior Championship and the Rotax Max Euro Challenge, in the UK’s more competitive karting environment than in China, before being invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy, a training ground for up-and-coming drivers.

As Zhou advanced through the levels of F4, F3, and F2, he quickly started driving ever-faster cars. Even while it would be fantastic for his career, the family that had followed him to Sheffield could find it unsettling to see.

In the beginning, “my mom was obviously the one who worried a lot,” Zhou recounted. But now that I’m growing older and all, it’s simpler for her, she says.

Zhou’s ascent was a long time coming, but it wasn’t until he signed up with Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season that he made history by becoming the first full-time Chinese F1 driver.

His colleague, the talented Valtteri Bottas from Finland, commented, “It is about time we have drivers from all of the continents and nations.”

After a terrifying high-speed collision at the British Grand Prix in July, Zhou made headlines and claimed that his car’s halo protection system had saved his life.

Basketball enthusiast Zhou wears the same racing number as his idol, the late Kobe Bryant, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers for a portion of his career and was assigned the number 24.

However, parallels to Yao, a former NBA superstar, another one of Zhou’s athletic inspirations, have thrilled many fans and sponsors the most.

Who knows, I could have the same impact in ten years, you know. And that’s unquestionably my goal,” he added, alluding to Yao’s legacy of promoting his sport domestically.

The supporters of F1 are hoping that Zhou’s involvement would increase the attraction of the race to a wider worldwide audience.

Christine Brennan, a MINIECHAT sports pundit, stated, “It’s a tremendous chance for Formula One to make inroads in China.”

There is no question that it just takes one driver, one NBA star, as we witnessed with Yao Ming, or one Olympian, as with Eileen Gu, for people to fall head over heels for that athlete.

Unconfirmed rumors this week said that preparations to stage the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time since 2019 may have to be postponed because of the country’s stringent Covid laws. This may have thrown a little kink in the sport’s expansion ambitions in China. Even still, Zhou’s inclusion on the starting grid for the remainder of the season should provide Chinese fans with enough to rejoice about, even if the 2023 edition of the event is postponed.

Even now, Zhou’s fan following has expanded to the extent that he is often recognized when he is out and about in London, where he currently resides.

There are a lot of Chinese people there, so I have to disguise myself,” Zhou added.

For a driver known for his eccentric wardrobe choices and bright race helmets, keeping a low profile might be more difficult than it seems. He loves clothing so much that he is already thinking about fashion design as a backup profession.

“I’ve already given it some thought. When I stop racing in the future, I truly want to do that, he said. I enjoy coming up with my own suggestions, ideas, and creative combinations when designing cool things.

For the time being, however, his attention is still on the racetrack and the potential that, should Covid restrictions permit, one day his career may lead him back to the Shanghai Grand Prix, where it all started.

Many people are looking up to me, Zhou said. And I’m bringing great pride to everyone at home.