Zhou gets lots of hate messages: 'I'm surprised'

Guanyu Zhou can be admired in Formula 1 next season. The Chinese driver replaces Antonio Giovinazzi, who left the team after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Not everyone is happy with the arrival of Zhou, says the driver in conversation with Formulascout.com.

The Chinese driver didn't get further than third place in the Formula 2 World Championship this season. Where Oscar Piastri took the victory with a distance of sixty points on the number two, Robert Shwartzman performed better as well.

It, therefore, raised the question of whether Piastri did not deserve the move to Formula 1. Zhou finds it a difficult question to answer himself. "I’m surprised how much stuff I got on social media, but I wasn’t paying too much attention on that," he states. "When you reach your dream or the top step of motorsport, you’re always going to get haters, you’re always going to get those who like you or those who don’t."

Bottas' experience should help

Zhou will drive alongside Valtteri Bottas in 2022, who is making the switch from Mercedes. The Finnish driver failed to live up to the high expectations at Mercedes in recent years, leading the German racing stable to decide to bring in George Russell.