"People don't know anything about me" - Alfa Romeo driver glad to have silenced critics in 2022 F1 season

Zhou Guanyu had a great first season in F1 with Alfa Romeo. Despite being unable to score many points and keep up with his experienced teammate, he proved his worth and place in the sport.

At the beginning of his F1 career, Zhou was heavily criticized. This was because he was picked for F1 and Oscar Piastri, who won the 2022 F2 championship, was left on the sidelines.

Speaking about this with GPFans, Zhou Guanyu opened up about how he felt at the beginning and how people judged and criticized him. He also mentioned how many fans don't know about the F2 Championship and how hard younger drivers work to get a seat in F1. Alfa Romeo's rookie said:

"The financial thing is definitely not true. It's people making stuff up, and then obviously, a lot of people go with it. Because people don't know me, and they don't know anything about me. They don't watch F2. They don't watch other series. They're just looking at your nationality or something, which is a bit unfair in a way, but that's how it is in the world."

Zhou Guanyu expressed how happy he was to get through his first season in the sport with Alfa Romeo and see people change their opinion about him. Since Alfa Romeo gave him a new contract in 2023, many fans are gradually acknowledging his talent. The Chinese driver said:

"I was really happy to just get rid of these pressures and wild speaking in the background - and everybody changed their opinion of me."

After the 2022 F1 season, Zhou Guanyu finished 18th in the driver standings with only six points.

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George Russell opens up about his crash with Alfa Romeo's rookie at the 2022 F1 British GP

George Russell recently worded his thoughts on his crash with Zhou Guanyu at the 2022 F1 British GP. The young Alfa Romeo driver experienced a much more horrific impact. His car flipped, slid through the gravel trap, and got flung behind the tire barrier.

George Russell also had major damage to his car, but he stopped and quickly ran towards Zhou Guanyu's car to check on his safety. Speaking to Motosport.com, the Briton recalled the incident. He explained how he simply thought of helping the driver instead of fixing the issue with his own car and moving on with the race.

He said:

"I guess, if I was in that position, I would want every single bit of help as soon as possible, because you don't know what is going to happen next, the car's going on fire or whatnot. So, I guess that was probably more of a human reaction as opposed to a racing driver reaction."

George Russell stood with the marshalls for a long time until Zhou Guanyu got out of the car safely.