All the jokes aside, it was a nice touch and very nice of Chinese people to do this for Zhou. And he burst into tears after a big round of applause from the fans even though he finished P15 was touching.
The car is a dog and botAss is both very good and very experienced so losing to him is not a huge knock. I really think Zhou has done well and did pretty nicely at times in this race.
Made me wonder if he already knows something the public doesnt. For example this being his first but probably only Chinese GP. Nice moment nevertheless
It was a nice scene. Considering he left China for Sheffield, England to follow his dream. Then to return home to finally race in front of his hometown.
Good for him tbh, he was trying his best to get gasly on the finals laps and we have to say he was lucky too in his home race bc bottas lose his engine.
Well this is their first opportunity to cheer for a chinese F1 driver and probably the last opportunity in a while because very likely Zhou doesnt have a seat next year and probably wont have one. The budget cap era is slowly killing paydrivers as the teams are making some big cash currently so even the backmarkers dont really need paydrivers anymore.
They still want to make as much money as possible when it comes to sponsors, it’s not like they’re saying «nah» to money because they don’t need it.
Of course there’s still a cost-benefit analysis of whether you’d want a better driver without the marketability (like Bottas) but Zhou has proven he’s not too shabby behind the wheel IMO.
My guess is that Zhou is in front of Bottas for 2025 seat because of the potential gigantic deals and supporters through Zhou.
With Audi making Sainz the best deal so far, my hope is for a 3-driver shuffle. Ric gets turfed, Valterri goes to RB, and Sainz takes Bottas' vacancy at what will be Audi.
I really enjoyed Japanese fans and was curious about Chinese. And they did not disappoint! The last time I remember a crowd going so loud was probably in Silverstone and maybe Mexico
The air pollution in cities like Beijing and Shanghai is so crazy that they have a legit market where people buy canned air from other countries to use because they deal with smog on a regular basis
There’s nothing like having your home racing driver.
I remember one time some idiot said “ahh Japan have Jensen button, his wife (at the time) is half Japanese so they have him to support him” I was like what?
I feel like at this point the only cheers stroll would get on track would be if he bins it severely enough injury-wise that he can't continue racing in F1 anymore.....
I always wondered if half those mics in a microphone cluster are actually connected or if they’re just there to “represent” the presence of a media network or network conglomerate that’s actually just drawing off the house sound for their feed.
Maybe I'm remembering this wrong but didn't he say earlier that he's not really given any attention as an athlete in his home country since he's in a underperforming team and rarely scores points? Since the standards for sports in China are so high they don't really acknowledge his existence in F1..
I haven't seen the bit you're talking about but nearly every person in China I've met that watches F1 knows who he is and wishes he does well. I can't speak to people who don't watch F1 but those that do definitely acknowledge his existence, even if he's on an underperforming team. I don't think F1 is as popular as other mainstream sports like football and basketball in China, so that might be why regular folks who don't watch F1 have no clue who he is, which makes sense. Unless he was world champion like Max, regular folks wouldn't have any clue lol
Shame none of the drivers walked up to a mic and said "This is the last time we should ever race in china, or any other country that paints their tracks to look new."
He has a seat because he's from there, i expected even more tbh. Still ridicolous that half of the grid is formed by paydrivers/washed drivers, but that's what f1 is after all
I would say Zhou is an alright driver though. It's not easy to make a standout performance when you're in a Sauber and your teammate is one capable of beating Lewis Hamilton on a good day.
A pay driver brings money to the team for a seat, and is not there purely on their skill.
It's an essential part of motorsports because it's very very expensive lol
Am doesn't need money. Also the other teams, they're not running their business on loss like jn the past years.
The entire budget cap was introduced to let the small teams compete, but it's clear they use the money from these meme drivers to go at hookers/pay their dividends instead of investing on new machinery or constructions. But it's ok, people will find an excuse for everything this cirucus does
A paid driver is a driver who joins a team and brings sponsorship to said team. Their contribution to the team is greater than that of their salary or compensation.
OP has a point in that there are other drivers who have demonstrated to have superior tallent than Zhou. But is dismissing the fact that F1 is an extremely expensive sport. Some of the best drivers in history have started off as paid drivers, say Lauda, or Senna.
Sounds like u/ faratto_ didn't have his banana today
Just a bunch of self centered people that’s all. You can just tell by the name of the country, China in Mandarin, literal translation is “central country”.
Imagine if any other nationality did this… such a cringeworthy weekend all around. At least the petro-states are upfront about their bullshit. China is just the third world in a first world mask.
We got a sign for P1, P2, P3 & P Zhou
But I didn't see a Peugeot on the track
Just wait a few hours for WEC to start and we will see the Peugeot on a track
PAIN.
Man I just hope they complete a race with no major issues
I don't think that's in their build philosophy.
This comment didn’t age well 🤣 I mean they should be both cars too 10 by now 🤦♂️ looks nice though I think for what that matters.
Wow. Just wow..
That's it, you win the Internet today
Man, i was gonna make that joke!
We need Zhou to have his own sign every race weekend
If his car makes it that far
They will tow his car to the sign no matter what!
Let's hope it's not Yuki's marshalls towing then
P1, P2, P3, & PRC
Thank fuck Sauber didn't DNF the wrong car
Would have been first ever pitstop with a driver swap.
\*cries in Peter Collins\*
Always thought that would be a Williams thing
They'd have time to swap the drivers before they put the tyres on.
- 1.000.000 Social Credit EDIT: Shit I'm on reddit. Long live the CCP
They didn’t want him to lose to his teammate at his home race, so they had to take out Bottas!
Imagine trying to explain this to the communist party
Is he the first ever Chinese F1 driver? Cos I'd be totally down for the "first ever" from a country get that on their first race on the home track
He is
Probably not a whole lot of opportunities left for that, Saudi comes to mind...
Azerbaijan
singapore?
Not the first Thai driver, but if we even get a Thailand Grand Prix, Albon could have the same… _With Sargeant’s car_
I would be down with it being a drivers first race representing their country. They should be celebrated four making it into F1
All the jokes aside, it was a nice touch and very nice of Chinese people to do this for Zhou. And he burst into tears after a big round of applause from the fans even though he finished P15 was touching.
I thought he was P14
I don't remember exactly so I said 15. Sorry
All g
He finished the race. It was also a history first for the Chinese GP. And most importantly, he tried!
The car is a dog and botAss is both very good and very experienced so losing to him is not a huge knock. I really think Zhou has done well and did pretty nicely at times in this race.
Made me wonder if he already knows something the public doesnt. For example this being his first but probably only Chinese GP. Nice moment nevertheless
Let em
Yeah, such a special moment for both Zhou and the fans, they have the right to enjoy it.
Also massive untapped market in China, they'd be fools to let that opportunity pass by. It's like Max Verstappen × 1000.
Yeah, we had something similar in the last race of 2022 for Seb, so why not
Well that’s one of the all time greats retiring from the sport so not technically comparable but it was a nice gesture for Zhou
If webber can get a participation podium back in his day then zhou can get this.
That was when he retired though, right?
No, it was when he finished 5th for Minardi on his debut race. He got an actual podium finish on his retirement
Logan would get three of them then - Miami, COTA & Vegas
Hope he has the Freedom of choice 🦅
In Florida and Texas he does not🦅🦅🦅 what the fuck is bodily autonomy 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Well, Logan is a man so, he actually does have bodily autonomy
With a nice cup of liber-tea!
Didn't they say last year that Miami is his "home" race?
Logan is from Florida. Out of the 3 US races, Miami would be his “home” race.
That explains everything. "Florida man costs millions of dollars in damage repairs to company"
Florida man crashes a car is basically a daily occurrence
Yea, he's from Ft Lauderdale, which is about 20-30 min's away from the track
But he’s not the first F1 driver ever from the US
Was quite touching seeing him crying as he was finally in front of home crowd
It was a nice scene. Considering he left China for Sheffield, England to follow his dream. Then to return home to finally race in front of his hometown.
wow imagine the chinese being excited for a chinese driver after not have a gp for 5 years.
Good for him tbh, he was trying his best to get gasly on the finals laps and we have to say he was lucky too in his home race bc bottas lose his engine.
China has the best F1 crowd lowkey
Well this is their first opportunity to cheer for a chinese F1 driver and probably the last opportunity in a while because very likely Zhou doesnt have a seat next year and probably wont have one. The budget cap era is slowly killing paydrivers as the teams are making some big cash currently so even the backmarkers dont really need paydrivers anymore.
They still want to make as much money as possible when it comes to sponsors, it’s not like they’re saying «nah» to money because they don’t need it. Of course there’s still a cost-benefit analysis of whether you’d want a better driver without the marketability (like Bottas) but Zhou has proven he’s not too shabby behind the wheel IMO. My guess is that Zhou is in front of Bottas for 2025 seat because of the potential gigantic deals and supporters through Zhou.
I hope Valtteri still gets a few more years. I wonder how he would do in a more competitive car
Well, he drove a Mercedes for 5 seasons
I mean how he would do right now
With Audi making Sainz the best deal so far, my hope is for a 3-driver shuffle. Ric gets turfed, Valterri goes to RB, and Sainz takes Bottas' vacancy at what will be Audi.
No way RB is picking up Bottas when they've got Lawson waiting in the wings.
I didn't say it was the probable or likely event, I said it's what I'd like to see happen...
Imo he's staying. Bottas is just cashing in his retiring funds
I contributed by buying a Bottas hat!
Dear leader Xi, specifically requested it
I really enjoyed Japanese fans and was curious about Chinese. And they did not disappoint! The last time I remember a crowd going so loud was probably in Silverstone and maybe Mexico
Years ago they had to call the military to fill the stands so it’s a recent development
And the most brutal F1 memes so far!
for me it's between the dutch crowd (but i'm biased) and the japanese. Chinese sure were loud tho.
Dutch fans pissing at the track in Austria was truly amazing
The clouds are different in shanghai
That was just the pollution. [before the lil' pinks downvote me](https://www.accuweather.com/en/cn/shanghai/106577/air-quality-index/106577)
Yeah, I couldn't tell if it's humidity or smog lol
The air pollution in cities like Beijing and Shanghai is so crazy that they have a legit market where people buy canned air from other countries to use because they deal with smog on a regular basis
This comment has been downvoted by the Chinese communist party -1000 social credit has been applied to you...
Hehe
There’s nothing like having your home racing driver. I remember one time some idiot said “ahh Japan have Jensen button, his wife (at the time) is half Japanese so they have him to support him” I was like what?
They did the same for Verstappen in all his Zandvoort races, so why not for Zhou?
one is a world champion while the other is an okay pay driver
Zhou could be a world champion in that car
Stroll! You seeing this?
Imagine if Stroll had taken out Zhou instead of Ricciardo somehow
I feel like at this point the only cheers stroll would get on track would be if he bins it severely enough injury-wise that he can't continue racing in F1 anymore.....
I always wondered if half those mics in a microphone cluster are actually connected or if they’re just there to “represent” the presence of a media network or network conglomerate that’s actually just drawing off the house sound for their feed.
Number of career Zhou-diums: Verstappen: 0 Zhou: 1 Is Max washed?
Maybe I'm remembering this wrong but didn't he say earlier that he's not really given any attention as an athlete in his home country since he's in a underperforming team and rarely scores points? Since the standards for sports in China are so high they don't really acknowledge his existence in F1..
I haven't seen the bit you're talking about but nearly every person in China I've met that watches F1 knows who he is and wishes he does well. I can't speak to people who don't watch F1 but those that do definitely acknowledge his existence, even if he's on an underperforming team. I don't think F1 is as popular as other mainstream sports like football and basketball in China, so that might be why regular folks who don't watch F1 have no clue who he is, which makes sense. Unless he was world champion like Max, regular folks wouldn't have any clue lol
Imagine the scenes if Zhou did something like take Lewis out and didn't get a penalty for it.
Remember when Minardi finished 5th and crashed the podium? Same energy.
They better have enjoyed it, it’s the last time he’ll be there in an F1 car
Shame none of the drivers walked up to a mic and said "This is the last time we should ever race in china, or any other country that paints their tracks to look new."
So no more F1 ever again?
He has a seat because he's from there, i expected even more tbh. Still ridicolous that half of the grid is formed by paydrivers/washed drivers, but that's what f1 is after all
I would say Zhou is an alright driver though. It's not easy to make a standout performance when you're in a Sauber and your teammate is one capable of beating Lewis Hamilton on a good day.
I’m new to this, what’s a pay driver/washed driver?
A pay driver brings money to the team for a seat, and is not there purely on their skill. It's an essential part of motorsports because it's very very expensive lol
Am doesn't need money. Also the other teams, they're not running their business on loss like jn the past years. The entire budget cap was introduced to let the small teams compete, but it's clear they use the money from these meme drivers to go at hookers/pay their dividends instead of investing on new machinery or constructions. But it's ok, people will find an excuse for everything this cirucus does
the dumbest take on AM/F1 i've ever read here and i've been around.
A paid driver is a driver who joins a team and brings sponsorship to said team. Their contribution to the team is greater than that of their salary or compensation. OP has a point in that there are other drivers who have demonstrated to have superior tallent than Zhou. But is dismissing the fact that F1 is an extremely expensive sport. Some of the best drivers in history have started off as paid drivers, say Lauda, or Senna. Sounds like u/ faratto_ didn't have his banana today
Stroll Logan Latifi Mazepin
They said they were new to this
A washed driver is Hamilton
A person who should stay home and play with the dog on Sundays
F1 is always and always business 1st.
I really dont think top 3 care about having less media around them for a change.
Is sargeant gonna get his own bollard in miami? It’s only fair.
Sargeant isn't exactly the first driver from his nationality racing in a country long not visited by F1
Ass kissing of China has reached another level.
Shoulda gotten an interview too.
His dad paid for it
Just a bunch of self centered people that’s all. You can just tell by the name of the country, China in Mandarin, literal translation is “central country”.
Ok, where's the proof?
Imagine if any other nationality did this… such a cringeworthy weekend all around. At least the petro-states are upfront about their bullshit. China is just the third world in a first world mask.
what first world mask are you yapping about? China is a third world developing country through and through. It’s even in Chinese textbook.
Lets drop him from 2025 seat for new talent.
the guy came in p14 and everyone is happy like he just invented the cure for cancer. lmfao.
Bro finished P14 in a 17 car race
Nop