Zhou's Heroic Effort Shadowed by Team Struggles

In a race filled with highs and lows, Guanyu Zhou’s spirited performance at the Chinese GP couldn’t overcome the broader team frustrations.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi had hoped for better from Stake F1’s race in Shanghai. The team director was pleased to see the connection between the local hero, driver Guanyu Zhou, and the audience, witnessing his finish.

“This isn’t the race we expected, nor the one we wanted,” admits Alunni Bravi. “Before diving into the race analysis, it’s important to acknowledge the significant chapter Zhou, alongside the team, has written in the history of motorsport and Formula 1 in China.”

“This is evidenced by the support from all the spectators throughout the weekend, starting Thursday: it was something impressive, exceeding our expectations. We have seen how Formula 1’s popularity is growing in China thanks to Zhou, and we are proud that our team could be part of it with him.”

The Italian was pleased to see his driver fight through the pack: “We expected a challenging race for him, starting 16th, but he had a good pace and fought well in the many battles he faced.”

“We opted for an aggressive strategy in the final stages, switching to soft tires to boost his performance: unfortunately, he didn’t score any points, but it was important to show that he could compete and be competitive with the surrounding cars.”

On the other hand, frustration was apparent for Valtteri Bottas, who seemed to have the pace to earn the team’s first points of the season, especially as the pit stops were all generally successful: “It was a disappointing end to the race for Valtteri, who was battling with Nico [Hülkenberg] for a top ten spot.”

“He had a strong first stint on medium tires, and the decision to switch to hard tires was the right one: unfortunately, his race was cut short by a transmission issue, a matter we will investigate. It was a big disappointment as he had the pace to finish in the points, which would have been a deserved result for him and the team.”

“Finally, the positive aspect of the race was the consistency of our pit stops, which helped us achieve the goal we had set for this weekend. This improvement will also boost our team’s confidence in the pit lane. Now, we turn our focus to Miami, aware that we can consider a very good weekend there.”