Bahrain Grand Prix: China’s Zhou Guanyu ‘shocked’ by dream start to F1 career, asks ‘what just happened’ after finishing 10th
- Zhou makes history as first full-time Chinese driver to compete and first from the country to win a point
- Chinese driver takes to Twitter and asks ‘what just happened’ after completing race
Zhou Guanyu said the dream start he made to his Formula 1 career on Sunday in the Bahrain Grand Prix had left him “speechless”, but proved to his critics that he “deserved to be here”.
The 22-year-old finished 10th, winning a point in his first outing, and also made history as the first full-time Chinese driver to race in F1.
Zhou, who had already made an impression by reaching second qualifying to start 15th on the grid, was overcome with emotion in the garage immediately after his debut.
“It’s amazing, I’m so speechless, you know?” he said. “It was [such an] emotional race, so intense.
“To be scoring my first ever Formula One points in my debut is something I would only have dreamed of one year ago or two weeks ago.
“Everything is such a new experience for me. Just to be on the grid is crazy, with the national anthem before the start, and seeing yourself with the 20 drivers. It was very emotional.”
Zhou lost time at one stage as he had to reset his car after it went into anti-stall mode.
