Zhou proud after taking “very tough” path to become China’s first F1 driver

15 comments on “Zhou proud after taking “very tough” path to become China’s first F1 driver”

1. 

   RandomMallard
   24th February 2022, 0:08

   COTD: Agree to an extent. Maybe not by Barcelona (but idk, surprise me), but I think by the end of the season we’ll be at the same pace as 2021.

   Re “Formula 2: Chasing The Dream”, I have one thing to say, which is YES. I absolutely love the show, and was worried there wouldn’t be a season 3, as the previous seasons have dropped a bit earlier in the year I seem to remember (around early February I think). So I’m delighted to see it back. I’ve not watched Drive To Survive, but from what I’ve heard about DTS, Chasing the Dream seems a more pure version of DTS. A mix of some great behind the scenes stuff mixed in with a very thorough season recap. I’m very excited…
   1. 

      someone or something
      24th February 2022, 1:57

      Barcelona looks like one of the best tracks for the new cars, though. With the exception of the clumsy final sector, the track is almost exclusively long, fast corners and a long straight, playing into the new concept’s strengths. Jeddah, Silverstone, and Spa might be even better (depending on how much faster the cars are on the straights in the latter case), but the rest of the tracks have too many slow corners, where those cars seem to lose not tenths, but seconds compared to the last generation.
      They will find ways to mitigate that, but the fundamental issue – greatly reduced downforce at slow speeds and less mechanical grip due to stiffer suspensions (the million dollar question is: can you find a way to get the suspension to soften at slower speeds without breaking a dozen rules and inspiring a new rule?) and increased weight, resulting in pityful low-speed cornering – is here to stay.
      In other words: Barcelona is one of the places where I’d expect the smallest difference to last year. Elsewhere, the difference is going to be measured in seconds. Spare a thought for Monaco, this is where things are going to get … interesting.
      1. 

         Red Andy (@red-andy)
         24th February 2022, 7:01

         The F1 cars were about 12 seconds a lap faster than F2 around Monaco last year (and 20-25 ahead of Formula E). Agree it will be interesting to see how far that comes down this season.
         1. 

            someone or something
            24th February 2022, 11:10

            I wouldn’t be amazed if they lost 3-4 seconds (a whopping 4-6% on a very short lap) there. While the track may act as a sort of litmus test for how well the teams have addressed the concept’s weaknesses, the fact that it’s quite early in the season is going to limit the amount of development up to that point.
            There are going to be the traditional major aero updates from the Barcelona GP, but I wonder if suspension updates follow the same schedule.
      2. 

         Jere (@jerejj)
         24th February 2022, 7:56

         @someone or something Monza is mostly about straight-line speed, though.
         Yes, slow opening chicane & quite slow second chicane, but otherwise medium-to-high speed stuff.
         Seconds at slow-speed corners seem an exaggeration, considering 0.5 sec is the most recent estimation.
         1. 

            someone or something
            24th February 2022, 11:00

            I didn’t mean seconds per corner, of course. But seconds per sector, definitely. I’d love to get my hands on yesterday’s sector times for confirmation, but no luck thus far.
            And Monza didn’t make my list for the very same reasons you mention. Monza wing configurations were already all about minimising drag in 2021, so even if the new cars are extremely efficient, there’s not much time to be gained by going over 350 kph. Faster is faster, but the bulk of the excess speed is going to come in the latter parts of the straights (since the engines are fundamentally the same and the differences in drag might only start becoming noticeable – on that track – at pretty high speeds), further reducing its time-saving potential, and then there’s the fact that braking distances have increased, and the new fuel composition will lead to more/earlier lifting and coasting. Therefore, I’d be amazed if the gains on Monza’s straights went beyond impressive speed trap figures and actually impacted lap times significantly.
            And then there’s the chicanes, that aren’t just “quite slow”, but very slow and pretty much the new generation of car’s nightmare. They require a strong front-end, an ability to deal with quick load shifts, and taking a lot of kerb. It really doesn’t get much worse than that.
            I’m not even sure they will be much faster through the Ascari chicane, because they will have to be wary of the kerbs, which will effectively narrow the layout and limit the cars’ high-speed cornering abilities. Parabolica should be great, though, but again, this was a corner that already played into the last generation’s cars’ strengths and allowed them to go flat out long before the start/finish straight came into sight. The new cars will probably arrive with a higher entry speed and start accelerating even earlier, so it’s definitely going to be spectacular for the drivers. But will it really result in significant time savings, when the old cars were already very much at ease in that corner? I doubt it.
2. 

   Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
   24th February 2022, 3:43

   The compromise called the 2022 rules should hopefully gravitate towards what Brawn and the fia originally wanted, at least that is what I’d expect from the new presidency. The teams knew cars were not getting any slower they always doom and gloom. They end up steering the rules and vote as it suits them.
3. 

   Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
   24th February 2022, 5:22

   Will Liberty “WeRaceAsOne” Media cancel Russian Grand Prix today or rather pretend that nothing is happening and blood money is fine?
   1. 

      Red Andy (@red-andy)
      24th February 2022, 6:58

      @armchairexpert As others were saying yesterday, I doubt Liberty will cancel the GP on their own initiative, but they may be forced into doing so by the effect of US sanctions.
   2. 

      Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
      24th February 2022, 9:10

      What a day for Haas to be driving around in what is basically the Russian flag!
4. 

   Thedonz
   24th February 2022, 6:23

   I’m wondering if our new formula one cars with the downforce generating floors will be more or less susceptible to floor damage and if sustained will floor damage have a much greater impact…..

   Maybe we have accidentally found the way to keep people off the kerbs….
5. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   24th February 2022, 7:58

   As if no one was going to recognize LH in that outfit.

   I share COTD’s view in principle.
6. 

   MichaelN
   24th February 2022, 8:49

   The COTD is right, and this is one reason to cut Pirelli some slack – even if they’re far from perfect themselves. The teams constantly understate their own development, for a variety of reasons, one of which is to keep the FIA from implementing even more restrictive rules. Pirelli has to rely on the data teams give them, and has no doubt already been forced to make changes to their original 2022 compounds.
7. 

   Darryn Smith (@darryn)
   24th February 2022, 17:32

   Would have been a much tougher path if Zhou would have been a Uyghur to get into F1 instead of a spoiled rich kid. By all means keep taking the blood money F1.
8. 

   ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
   24th February 2022, 18:14

   I don’t really care how tough the path was for Guanyu Zhou. He’s still occupying Oscar Piastri’s seat. Imagine how much better the racing would be if all drivers made it to F1 based on merit alone.

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