Formula 1: Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu left to wonder what might have been, after ‘messy’ Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Chinese driver finishes 11th in Jeddah after car trouble and a drive-through penalty stalls his progress
- Happy with the speed of the car, Zhou says another points finish was within reach
Zhou Guanyu was left to wonder what might have been in Jeddah on Sunday, after car trouble and a time penalty conspired to leave him just out of the points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Alfa Romeo Racing driver finished 11th early on Monday morning (Hong Kong time), in a thrilling race won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished second and third respectively, with Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, in fourth.
A week after making his Formula 1 debut, Zhou looked in with a chance of a top-10 finish for a second race running, but the technical issues that plagued him in Bahrain reappeared, and a mix-up over a drive-through penalty cost him dearly.
Starting from 12th on the grid, Zhou came out of the first turn at the back of the 18-car pack, and said afterwards that his car was dropping into anti-stall mode when he shifted into a low gear.
“I mean, don’t have much explanation on that, we had the same issue as Bahrain going into turn one, the only positive is that the start was a much better one,” he said.
“But into turn one it seems like I go into anti-stall straight away when I go into low gear, so we have to investigate that, because if it keeps happening we will just keep losing ground to people around us, so it won’t matter where I qualify.”
In an attempt to battle back to where he started, Zhou’s aggression in a scrap to pass Alex Albon saw him run off the circuit, a move that earned him a five-second penalty.
