F1: Zhou Guanyu targets ‘big gains’ in qualifying after Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice in Baku
- Chinese rookie ‘quite confident’ after Friday two practice sessions at Baku City Circuit
- The 23-year-old warns Alfa Romeo team ‘there are still some parts we have to work on’
Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu is hoping he and his Alfa Romeo team can make some “big gains” in Saturday’s F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session.
The 23-year-old was 16th overall in FP1 on Friday, setting a best time of one minute and 48.222 seconds over his 24 laps at the Baku City Circuit.
He finished in the same position for FP2, but shaved off plenty of time with his best lap – 1:45.264 – and thinks there is not much separating the middle of the pack.
“I liked it, I enjoyed it,” Zhou said. “No mistakes. Reasonably quick to get into the speed, compared to Jeddah, Monaco. So I’m quite happy with that.
“As a team there are still some parts we have to work on, but I’m quite confident. We know what we’ve got for tomorrow’s qualifying. It’s probably not the speed we want to see on Friday, but it seems we’re quite comfortable with everything.
“The mid-field battle, as we saw also in P2, is very tight between – I have to say – P10 all the way to P16. If you find a few 10ths [of a second], one or two 10ths, it can be a big gain of positions in qualifying.
“Also with the track position. I’d like to find it as much as we can in the car and give it our all tomorrow.”