As a younger aspiring racer, Zhou Guanyu dreamed of following at some point within the footsteps of his childhood hero, Fernando Alonso. Little did the Chinese language charger know that he would at some point evolve from fanboy to F1 teammate.
From a younger age, Zhou was captivated by the world of Grand Prix racing and by Alonso’s driving prowess particularly.
He would spend numerous hours glued to the tv, emulating the Spaniard’s maneuvers together with his toy vehicles.
His bed room partitions have been adorned with Alonso posters, additional cementing his admiration for the legendary driver.
“I used to be a fan for thus lengthy. I nonetheless am,” he remembered, in an interview with The Gamers’ Tribune. “I went to each Chinese language Grand Prix, and I nonetheless would if I weren’t racing. It’s who I’m.
“If I might take you again in time with me and present you my room from after I was a boy, you’d snort your head off. I had Fernando Alonso posters everywhere in the partitions. It seemed just like the room of an adolescent idolising their favourite pop star.
“I sat in entrance of the TV in any respect types of bizarre hours, with the amount turned all the best way down, as my mother and father slept just a few rooms over. And I might simply dream.
“I’d decide my favorite little toy vehicles off the desk and push them across the carpet as I watched Michael [Schumacher] and Fernando and Kimi [Raikkonen] win races. I knew that’s all I wished to do.”
As Zhou’s ardour for motorsport grew, he launched into his personal racing journey, competing in numerous junior classes.
His expertise and dedication regularly earned him recognition, main him to the doorstep of System One. In 2021, Zhou joined the Alpine F1 Crew’s Academy, the place he had the chance to be taught from none apart from his idol.
A 6-year-old Zhou Guanyu waving the flag of his favorite driver – Fernando Alonso – on the 2005 Chinese language GP.
However the Chinese language driver’s massive – and indelible – second got here on the Austrian Grand Prix the place he was handed an FP1 outing with Alpine and a chance to show his mettle.
“I used to be nonetheless in F2 on the time, however I used to be actually hoping to get an F1 seat for the subsequent yr,” Zhou commented. “Alpine provided me a session, and it was in Fernando’s automotive. In his automotive!
“I’d seen him win in China after I was six years outdated. I helped my mum put up all these posters in my room. I wore a replica of his helmet throughout my karting profession. He was my man. And my first F1 weekend was in his automotive. It felt so surreal.”
It was an expertise past Zhou’s wildest goals. To be behind the wheel of an F1 automotive, not to mention Alonso’s race automotive, was a second of pure bliss for the younger driver.
As he shared his experiences with the Spaniard, the two-time world champion provided some useful phrases of encouragement and recommendation, additional fueling Zhou’s dedication and F1 ambitions.
“I walked the monitor with him and the staff,” he continued. “I requested him as many questions as I might, and he was unbelievably form.
“He informed me to be free, to get pleasure from it on the market – to simply do what I understand how to do. He texted me the night time earlier than and let me know I might all the time attain out to him.
“The subsequent day I bought within the automotive and I seemed on the steering wheel like, ‘That’s Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel’. And the session glided by like a blur.
“On my cooldown lap, I bear in mind my engineer telling me [Lewis] Hamilton’s time, that [Sebastian] Vettel was on a scorching lap, and I needed to pinch myself. I felt like I used to be so near every thing I’d wished. It made me simply push more durable.”
Zhou’s F1 debut in 2022, with Alfa Romeo, marked a big milestone in his profession. He had lastly achieved his childhood dream, standing alongside the drivers he had admired for thus lengthy.
Whereas the journey was not with out its challenges, Zhou’s ardour for racing and his unwavering perception in himself stored him pushing ahead.
Now, in 2024, Zhou is getting ready for his third F1 season, nonetheless fueled by the identical ardour and dedication that has guided him since his childhood.
He has come a good distance from the younger boy with Alonso posters on his partitions, however one factor stays fixed: his enduring love for the game and his steadfast perception in himself.
As he continues to blaze his path in System 1, Zhou Guanyu is certain to encourage a brand new era of aspiring racers, simply as Fernando Alonso impressed him.
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