Zhou Guanyu opens up on facing ‘racial abuse’ since joining the F1 grid in 2022
Zhou Guanyu faced racial abuse from fans after he became the first-ever Chinese driver to race in Formula 1.
Follow Us
Zhou Guanyu (via IMAGO)
Zhou Guanyu became the first Chinese driver to race in Formula 1 in 2022. The 25-year-old made his debut with Alfa Romeo (now Stake F1 team) alongside Valtteri Bottas. Now, Guanyu has opened up about the struggles he has faced for being Asian from fans on social media.
The 25-year-old signed his Alfa Romeo contract in 2021, when he was part of the Alpine driver academy. Zhou Guanyu claimed that he received a lot of racial abuse online. The Chinese driver highlighted that these people did not even follow his career.
It’s quite clear, in 2021 when I signed a contract with Alfa Romeo there was a lot of racist abuse people were giving [me] because they didn’t follow my career.Zhou Guanyu told The Race
Zhou Guanyu took a dig at Oliver Bearman. The Chinese driver highlighted that he received abuse despite finishing third in Formula 2. On the other hand, Bearman has had immense support on social media for his Haas F1 seat despite not being in the top 10 of the F2 standings this year.
You come around with third place in F2, winning four races that year - and [now] you see a driver outside the top 10 [in F2] at the moment is getting a seat, and there’s a lot of support for him.Zhou Guanyu stated
Zhou Guanyu highlights racial prejudice in F1
Formula 1 is a white man’s sport. Over the years, the sport has been dominated by white Europeans with very little representation of other nations or ethnicities. Lewis Hamilton has challenged this status quo with his historic success. However, Zhou Guanyu pointed out that racial prejudice remained a reality in F1. The Chinese driver highlighted that this was not only limited to Chinese drivers but even to other Asian nationalities.
It shows [prejudice around] nationality is a reality. That’s difficult to change when you’re Asian, coming from different countries in Asia, but I’m not worried about that.Zhou Guanyu explained
Certainly, no person should be a victim of racism and discrimination. It is sad to see Zhou Guanyu face such comments. Unfortunately, things will not change unless people stand up against racism. Fans would hope that F1 acknowledges Guanyu’s comments and tries to prevent such an incident in the future.
In case you missed it:
- James Vowles affirms Carlos Sainz is ‘not a fool’ for choosing ‘tail-end’ Williams for 2025
- Yuki Tsunoda asserts he ‘won’t make life easy’ for Max Verstappen if he got promoted to Red Bull
Stay Updated!
Armaan Agarwal
(2271 Articles Published)