Formula 1 is coming back to China this weekend after being away for five years. And whoever wins on Sunday, the local star will be Zhou Guanyu, who was born in China.
Even though Zhou hasn’t had great results, he’s still becoming famous in China. There’s even a new movie about him because he’s the first Chinese driver in F1. And of course, sponsors like him because he’s Chinese.
“For me, this race is more than just a competition,” Zhou said before the Grand Prix weekend in Shanghai. “Having a Chinese driver in the race will make history.”
Zhou has never won a Formula 1 race. In the 48 races he’s been in since 2022, he’s never finished in the top three, called the podium.
In the last F1 race in Japan almost two weeks ago, his Sauber car broke down with a gearbox problem, and he finished 18th out of 20.
In the 2023 season, he was also 18th in the standings, with only six points from 22 races. But his stats aren’t that important when it comes to finding a hometown hero in F1.
Zhou was born in Shanghai, and even though he grew up mostly in England, Sunday’s Chinese GP is like coming home for him—and the race. The last F1 race in China was in 2019, and the next four were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A movie about Zhou’s life will come out on Friday by the Shanghai Media Group, which is a big media company in China.
Lewis Hamilton, who won seven world championships with Mercedes and is moving to Ferrari next season, won the 2019 race in China. He was dominant in those years, winning four straight titles between 2017 and 2020.
But in the race two weeks ago in Japan, Hamilton didn’t win again. It’s been 49 races in a row that he hasn’t won. His last victory was in 2021.
The Chinese Grand Prix weekend will have a sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday. Some drivers are worried about the sprint race because the track hasn’t been used since 2019.
Practice is only on Friday, followed by sprint qualifying. Saturday has the sprint race and qualifying for Sunday—all on a newly paved track. And Sunday is the big race day.
The documentary about Zhou’s life is called “The First One” and is in Chinese. The race is part of a plan by the national and provincial governments to bring tourists back to China after the pandemic. They also want to keep businesses from leaving the country.
China hasn’t been in auto racing for very long, and Shanghai had its first Grand Prix in 2004. Last month, China’s General Administration of Sport, along with the Commerce and Culture Ministry, said that sports events were important. They want people to see the benefits of sports events and cultural tourism and to spend more money.
