After interviewing Guanyu Zhou in the coffee shop of Shanghai World Expo Shopping Center, I found that I forgot another thing-taking a photo with him. Because this 20-year-old Shanghai guy beside me will be the first F/KLOC-0 driver in China in the future.

Although from the perspective of driver's growth, the media should not give him too much pressure and expectation.

This is not the first time I have met Guanyu Zhou. Room Renault P of Shanghai Railway Station in April 20 19 should have been an earlier F 1 Ferrari paddock, or even the Zhuhai Karting Yard many years ago. At that time, Guanyu Zhou 10 won all the championships in eight sub-stations of the National Karting Championship.

Talk about F2 and Guanyu Zhou's achievements and his relationship with mick schumache, and you will find that this young man is not simple.

As we all know, Formula One of F 1 is a top-level event. In contrast, Formula One of FE is much inferior in driver's level and speed. You may have heard of Formula F3, and you are also a first-class player who can win in Formula F3. For example, in today's car world, F 1 has won the F3 championship from Schumacher to active drivers.

But it is very difficult to take a step forward from F3.

First of all, you must have the strength to win the F3 championship before you can take a step forward. If your performance in F3 is just average, it means that your talent may be insufficient, or you are too old to compete with children (almost all drivers in F3 are teenagers). If you don't perform well in F3, you may eventually switch to other events (such as touring car races).

Only when you show your talent in F3 and have the speed of winning the championship like a god, will you have a chance to enter one of the most "professional" events in the world-Formula 2 of ——F2.

F2 major is said because it is an event to train talents for F 1. Even during the F 1 race week, many of its races are held on the same track. F2 doesn't have many commercial activities like FE and F 1. It uses a unified racing car (each team has different adjustments), but many of its designs are close to F 1.

I have to mention one person here-mick schumache, son of F 1 seven-time champion Schumacher. Mick schumache, born in 1999, won the European F3 championship in 20 18, and then successfully joined F2 in 20 19. He is one of the stars in the car industry in the past two years, no matter his surname or his grades.

China driver Guanyu Zhou, also born in 1999, was a teammate of mick schumache's Prema team during F3 in Europe. In the 20 18 season, Guanyu Zhou won the championship in the European F3 * *, twice and three times in the Asian/kloc-0 season, ranking eighth among all drivers with a total score of 203 points.

But this is not Guanyu Zhou's real strength, because he was close to leading the standings in the first half of the season. Therefore, Autosport thinks that Guanyu Zhou is unlucky, and his real strength should be the sixth, while mick schumache's strength should be the fourth.

In the 20 19 season, Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher both successfully advanced to F2, and Guanyu Zhou joined the Russian Federation? UNI-Virtuosi team was transformed from Time team. Mick schumache signed Pryma? Racing team seats, these two teams are capable of winning the championship.

In the F2 debut of 20 19 season, Guanyu Zhou's performance was also remarkable. In the Spanish race, Guanyu Zhou won the third place in the first round, becoming the first China driver to get on the F2 podium. In the British Grand Prix, he won the pole position and won the third place in the competition.

In the end, in the 20 19 season, Guanyu Zhou ranked seventh with the total score of 140, so it is ok to be a freshman. Crucially, Guanyu Zhou ranked ahead of former teammate mick schumache-Mick only scored 53 points in the whole year, but unfortunately ranked 12.

In 20 19, when he participated in F2 race, Guanyu Zhou bid farewell to Ferrari Drivers' Academy and joined Renault Sports Institute. Renault F 1 team awarded him the role of R&D driver. After taking part in the F2 race, he drove the RS 19 car on Renault's simulator, and made a preliminary test for R&D and upgrade.

In the last week of 20 19, I saw Guanyu Zhou again in Shanghai. Guanyu Zhou, who is just 20 years old, looks so young, just like standing in Shanghai on April 20 19, and our interview in the coffee shop of the shopping mall started easily:

Autolab: There is a big difference between F3 and F2 cars. Are you familiar with this car? How is the state adjustment?

Guanyu Zhou: I'm still in good shape. Personally, I think there have been GP3 competitions before, and there are some similarities with F2. Whether using DRS, the downforce and tires of the car are very close to F2. I am F3, but I use a completely different frame, and the tires are Pirelli tires.

But I didn't expect to get used to F2 soon. Maybe F2 is more friendly to me, or I think driving is more suitable for me. What F3 to F2 need to do is to protect the tires during the race. There are many things to learn in the whole process, but we lack experience. So there is no way to compete with senior drivers for the championship or get on the podium in the first round. ?

AutoLab: Now the design of F2 car is close to F 1 in many aspects. You tried to drive a F 1 car. Do you think there is a big gap between the two?

Guanyu Zhou: I don't think we can say that we are close to the F 1 car. After all, there is a big difference between turning from the steering wheel with and without assistance. In addition, there is a big difference between horsepower and downforce, which is still different from driving F 1.

We haven't had a chance to test any new tires this year, and many data are basically zero. So we need to get some data at the beginning of the season, and I feel that the first stop next year is a question mark.

AutoLab: Is your driving style more like F 1 drivers, such as Hamilton, Vettel, Vestapan or Ricardo?

Guanyu Zhou: It's hard to say which driver I am more like, because every driver is very different, but my overall driving style was conservative at the beginning of the season, maybe a little more radical in the second half of the season, and I was involved in several tire accidents.

But everyone's driving style is different. I hope I can learn better aspects of every F/KLOC-0 driver as soon as possible and use them in my own race.

My initial goal before the start of this season is to get on the podium in the second round of the second half of the season and take advantage of the reverse start. Maybe the whole season started smoothly, and I got on the podium many times in a row, and in the first round, I added pole position.

Ortola Bu: You were at Ferrari Drivers' Academy, and now you have gone to Renault Youth Training System. What do you think is the difference between the two teams?

Guanyu Zhou: I think it's close. If I had gone to Renault without joining other teams before, I might have to adapt as I did when I first entered Ferrari.

There will be a timetable every day. If you go to Si Tong to see the motorcade, you will stay in a hotel. In Italy, you will stay in Italy. Except for the different cities, the overall training content is quite similar. In Renault, I spent more time on the F 1 simulator, because Ferrari didn't have the title of F 1 at that time, which was the biggest difference.

In terms of fitness, it is all the same. Everyone will make a plan for you and have a physical examination in Reno every year. You will be given a training form at the beginning of the year and an intensive training plan at the end of the year.

The most important reason for choosing to join Renault is that you can get closer to F 1 and pursue your dreams. Renault is also a very professional F 1 team, which is the most important.

AutoLab: What conditions do you need to meet from F2 to F 1?

Guanyu Zhou: The most important thing is to get enough points to get a super driver's license. Now I still need 20 points (40 points to apply for "F 1 Super Driver's License"). Super driver's license, just like a civilian car has its own driver's license, is eligible to drive F 1.

Then there must be a chance, because the seats of F 1 are too tight, and there are vacancies that year, or some teams take a fancy to you and invite you to be the driver of F 1.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.