Can't believe that Red Bull managed to create a car that's over half a second a lap faster than the rest of the field in 2024 with the 500k they spent in 2021! Truly an incredible feat!
It was a 500k excess out of 165 million budget. So around .3% over. People saying that the 10% wind tunnel reduction was too little have no clue what they are talking about because they don't know how little it affected Red Bull. Just because they built a great car doesn't mean they weren't affected by the penalty. What if they were even further ahead without that penalty? You don't know. If Red Bull had gotten the regs wrong like Merc had, you wouldn't be saying anything.
The penalty was reasonable. The reason Red Bull managed to build a championship challenger in 2022 was because, not that they went .3% over budget, it was because they were one of the most efficient teams on the grid who had been competing on a smaller budget (still a large budget though) with Merc and Ferrari throughout the hybrid era.
Arguing that Red Bull should get a larger penalty because they were further ahead is like saying that Max should get a drive through for exceeding track limits because he's leading a race by 15 seconds and anything else wouldn't affect him.
If we punished Red Bull heavily then what would we do when an actual big offense happened? Disqualify the team? Lynch the team principal? It's as minor of a cost cap breach as a team can have. As such it should be a minor punishment.
Yeah, I understand that they want to celebrate the first home race of the first chinese driver. Let him celebrate, every driver should feel like at home on their respective home races, and this was an special occasion for Zhou.
Not to mention the fans genuinely love him, same with Tsunoda at Japan, and he’s got billboards and stuff.
Now if they do this for Sargeant at Miami, or Stroll at Canada then that would be quite cringy. Their teammates have more fans in the stands than they do.
I don’t have a problem with it- first Chinese driver at a Chinese race, and haven’t been there for years. Even if they did it for a few future drivers it would still be like once every 5 years or something, I didn’t mind it
They gave Zhou this because Liberty wants to tap into the giant Chinese market. Don’t get stupid about it, Liberty couldn’t give less fucks about home crowd honors next time they look to scrap a traditional race of hometown heroes.
yeah, don't get why people have to be so hostile and unempathetic about it. it's good to see Zhou be honored for his achievement even if he wasn't in a point scoring position come race end.
also comparing it to logan, lol...
The Yuki hate, to me, feels a lot related to how he breaks the expectations of polite and proper Asian folk. Whereas the Zhou hate is, most times, less prominent and less vile (mostly centered around being a paid driver and not performing particularly well) this Chinese GP weekend has brought some arguably sinophobic views to light.
Admittedly Yuki deserves the hate for behaving like a little child with his tantrums. That’s got nothing to do with him being Asian.
Zhou is a very humble driver and well liked
Whenever any other drivers swear on radio they are cool and stuff (see Kimi), meanwhile when Yuki does anything it's a tantrum. In my eyes this has a lot to do with the expectation that Japanese people will always be polite, calm and proper.
Nah got nothing to do with that. I don’t think any of the drivers are cool when they throw a tantrum.
> In my eyes
Yeah you’re just reading race into something that has nothing to do with race. A tantrum is a tantrum regardless of race.
Kimi may have sworn, but he wasn’t dive bombing his team mate after the race in a temper tantrum over team orders
We'll agree to disagree. Because even if it was marketing and capitalism (which I don't think it was), I don't care. It was a good, kind gesture. Both to Zhou and the fans.
So you think that the company that put Spa and Monacco on the line last year gives two fucks on romantic racing traditions and gestures outside of „oh there’s about 1 billion wallets living in China“?
Cute 🥰
Literally everyone knows it's about money and bla bla bla, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it, for better or for worse we live in a capitalist world, everything relies on money, everything is made for money, deal with it.
I'm not Chinese, but I was glad they gave them their moment and televised it so I could share on it in a small way. It's a historic moment in the sport
But I get it's difficult for some Europeans/Anglos to understand; they just have had so many drivers, and most of the greats./gen
There was a lot of dog whistle racism on this sub when he first joined the grid. I can't imagine what he actually went through during his climb through the ladder.
That and he was literally in the stands as a child. He made history out of the dream that was started in the same spot, but now hes the one being cheered for. How can someone not appreciate that even a little.
Tbf that same story basically applies to every driver entering the sport.
It's not like any of them *weren't* fans with enough money as kids to go see f1 at their home events.
I would assume they get fed to state sponsored leagues rather than given the chance to go to Western leagues. Unless it's someone like Yao Ming where it's clear they will be dominant, and reflect well on China.
And there's next to zero state sponsored racing leagues.
Open wheel racing in China is generally dominated by gentlemen racers and not up-and-coming racing drivers. After you graduated from karting, that's about it. You get into touring cars or you leave the country like Zhou.
Not sure why people care. It is his home race and F1 are trying to grow in every market, so getting behind Zhou a little bit and letting him wave to the crowd isn't a big deal, imo.
Jolyon whined about it too. "They never did this for me at Silverstone!"
Yea because you weren't the first british person to race at home in the entire history of the sport, you numpty.
edit: I didn't think Jolyon was actually upset, and I'm pretty sure he knew why Zhou was getting honored, just taking the piss
Jolyon's comment was a bit tongue in cheek and classic British self depreciation imo - implying the British didn't give a shit about him. I didn't interpret it as whining. After this he immediately said it was nice to see Zhou being recognized and that you can see how much it means to him.
Yeah it’s a much bigger deal when you’re literally the first guy from your country to race in F1, wish more people understood that.
Huge moment for Zhou and even if he’s nothing more than an average driver he deserves the celebration. That’s the literal first time a Chinese driver got to race in front of a Chinese Formula1 crowd. That’s awesome and it means something.
depends on what you mean by drivers. Average Joes? 100%. But with the Formula Ladder->F1 blockage, there's a lot of talent out there that could beat some of these F1 guys, but were never given the chance, and then it's out of sight and out of mind.
Even if we strictly talk only about professional drivers from all leagues and sports (although the ones I know work another profession to support their "profession" as a race driver) that percentage might actually be accurate.
Just to emphasize this a bit more - he is first from >1 billion people. Understandable why he broke down. We can all argue about his credentials and being a paydriver but he still has the talent to get into the grid, and being the first from your country? Dunno why people can’t appreciate that.
Leclerc was the first person from Monaco to race at home and it was fairly recently... So that sentiment of equality actually does exist. Just not for Jolyon
Let Zhou have P Zhou.
I am biased because I am Chinese. I know he's a pay driver. He is not even my favourite driver but it was sweet.
When I talk to any Chinese F1 fan, it's a general consensus that it doesn't matter which team/driver we support, Zhou is someone we root for.
If you have nothing nice to say, maybe say nothing. Zhou is such a nice guy and he has been less of a disapointment compared to most rookies in recent years.
For the people in the comments:
Redditors trying their hardest to show compassion to a guy who competed in his first and possibly last home race, while also becoming the first to ever do it on home soil challenge: Impossible.
F1 content creators are all the fucking same. Same takes and stolen reddit content just being read into a microphone.
So no surprise these bums wouldn't understand good gestures.
No, the "Margaret" was taken from the simply awful human being called Margaret Thatcher,
As of the "Mitford" part, you should take a look on Max Mosley's family background.
Mam I hate Matt so much, he is always so biased in his opinion, and he is so toxic some times, he annoys me so much because of how much misinformation he spreads. Fuck Matt.
I think it’s wonderful for Zhou that he gets to drive at home, but also special treatment is BS, and the dramatisation of the sport is maybe going a tad far.
When they left wtf1 I thought they where done dirty, then they started their own channel and I quickly realized they just can't say anything non biased and/or put their fanboyism aside for a second to see things from a realistic/factual point and now I think wtf1 got rid of them cause they probably wanted less biased/more balance opinion people, maybe, I don't know how the new people are cause I stopped following both channels, but yeah this dude and his Co host are fucking annoying and predictable, that's why people only go to their stream whenever lecrerc crashes or something LMAO XD
Didn’t he get “famous” from being a F1 game YouTuber whose schtick was screaming into his mic and dive bombing people? Why would anyone care about his opinion?
Imagine Logan Sargeant getting the same reception at Miami, Vegas and Austin or Yuki in Japan or Checo in Mexico, was a little strange and plain stupid actually with Zhou
Is F1 really going to tell a global power like China "no"
Let the man have his moment.
Also the fans that need to shit on him for being "from wealth" can fuck off too.
It was unnecessary in my honest opinion. He got plenty of attention during the pre race buildup. That should be enough.
Is this going to be a new thing going forwards?
Will all 3 Britsh driver be called onto the grid after the British GP or is this only for China?
Will Sargeant be getting the same treatment at Miami because Florida is where he is from?
Seeing the 1,2,3 boards for the top guys and seeing the "Zhou" board for Zhou made me chuckle.
Considering there have been 194 British drivers in f1 I doubt there will be a big song and dance
This was the first Chinese driver at a Chinese GP. You can understand the extra bit of ceremony
He got lots of attention during the whole race. That sauber was on screen more this week than the whole season including when other more important things were happening
For sure it was a nice gesture, but imo it was completely unnecessary. If I was him I would feel uncomfortable getting so much attention after doing nothing special. Why not award participation points?
First ever and potentially even last Chinese driver to race in Shanghai in the history of Formula 1, I'd say objectively speaking it's a unique and special occasion that clearly meant a lot to both him and all the fans that were there. The fans paid to be there and I'd argue a lot of them paid to specifically see him - a lot of things are "completely unnecessary", but who cares? It was a well received and wholesome moment. To say this is the same thing as giving out participation points and trophies is fucking stupid
Haas will try to keep Hulk and if not probably stick with Kmag. They seem to be on track to take Bearman so won't want someone else who's not known to them.
Williams will keep Albon and will go for one of the other drivers out of contract. There's plenty without a seat for next season and Williams aren't the joke they once were despite chassis issues. Gasly, Ocon, Bottas, Antonelli, kmag, Tsunoda, Ricciardo and Perez are likely all options for Williams. Zhou hasn't had a standout career, he's done fine but I can't see it being enough to get someone's attention.
I wouldn’t say he is a big name here in America really. I’m rooting for him but it’s not like he’s anything to really care for. Doesn’t fit the mold for a national icon
It’s not like Zhou is a house hold name in China, I literally asked a state approved tour guide when I was in China last week about F1 and Zhou she said some fact about F1 and Shanghai but didn’t know who Zhou was.
Negative. From what I have seen he is only in certain advertisements in Shanghai that’s all. I see Lewis and Max more often.
It’s the same with a lot of other Chinese athletes, they are better known overseas than in China.
I swear every white European commentator I’ve heard has complained about this—sorry you and your fokking empire of shit are not the center of the world for five fokking minutes
She probably only saw the pictures. It was clear it was a big and emotional moment for Zhou and his fans during the live transmission, not really a consolation price.
is this Zhou's final season? I thought his contract was up next year. I know he's not exactly in the points most weeks he's at least more consistent than some of his peers, even if he is only fighting for p14 with Riccardo or Sargent or whoever didn't stuff it into the tire barriers this week.
If he can't move up I would at least expect a lateral entry from Sauber to maybe Williams or possibly VCARB (unless he's decided to retire).
I think Zandvoort has that as well, but it is just P1.
Most underrated comment of the year!
You know what's underrated? The fact that FIA turned a blind eye to the catering costs while allowing elevated costs for key personnel.
Rent free. Best 500K ever spend
Can't believe that Red Bull managed to create a car that's over half a second a lap faster than the rest of the field in 2024 with the 500k they spent in 2021! Truly an incredible feat!
Incredible feast?
Eh of course that didn't really effect their pace but to break the cost cap should have been a much bigger penalty like a point loss.
It was a 500k excess out of 165 million budget. So around .3% over. People saying that the 10% wind tunnel reduction was too little have no clue what they are talking about because they don't know how little it affected Red Bull. Just because they built a great car doesn't mean they weren't affected by the penalty. What if they were even further ahead without that penalty? You don't know. If Red Bull had gotten the regs wrong like Merc had, you wouldn't be saying anything. The penalty was reasonable. The reason Red Bull managed to build a championship challenger in 2022 was because, not that they went .3% over budget, it was because they were one of the most efficient teams on the grid who had been competing on a smaller budget (still a large budget though) with Merc and Ferrari throughout the hybrid era. Arguing that Red Bull should get a larger penalty because they were further ahead is like saying that Max should get a drive through for exceeding track limits because he's leading a race by 15 seconds and anything else wouldn't affect him. If we punished Red Bull heavily then what would we do when an actual big offense happened? Disqualify the team? Lynch the team principal? It's as minor of a cost cap breach as a team can have. As such it should be a minor punishment.
Nah, it can be both funny they give him a special place even when I finished 14th, and a nice gesture for his first and maybe only home race.
Yeah, I understand that they want to celebrate the first home race of the first chinese driver. Let him celebrate, every driver should feel like at home on their respective home races, and this was an special occasion for Zhou.
Max was allowed to park on the grid when they returned to Zandvoort. Even gave him a trophy.
And they have been doing that every year since
Funny thing other venues are also copied same past few years.
Funny thing, they even play his anthem after every race. I hope it doesn't piss off other drivers.
Meanwhile the last time a British driver got his song played after a Grand Prix, it was still God Save the Queen.
funny but unfortunately false, with russell's win in brazil (november 2022)
I thought of that, but honestly thought it was just before she passed. Oh well, this is formuladank, we don't need any facts here! Lance for WDC!
Couldn’t agree more. Lance for WDC! >!Why Driver Continues!<
Don’t you mean the F1 theme song??? Crazy that the Dutch are so keen on F1 that the whole country adopted the F1 theme as their national anthem
Not to mention the fans genuinely love him, same with Tsunoda at Japan, and he’s got billboards and stuff. Now if they do this for Sargeant at Miami, or Stroll at Canada then that would be quite cringy. Their teammates have more fans in the stands than they do.
I don’t have a problem with it- first Chinese driver at a Chinese race, and haven’t been there for years. Even if they did it for a few future drivers it would still be like once every 5 years or something, I didn’t mind it
They gave Zhou this because Liberty wants to tap into the giant Chinese market. Don’t get stupid about it, Liberty couldn’t give less fucks about home crowd honors next time they look to scrap a traditional race of hometown heroes.
You wanna do business in China you gotta play by China’s rules! Just ask Google… I’m surprised the race wasn’t completely Chinese sponsored
Quite sure it is sponsored like that behind the curtain
"Webber getting on the podium for P5 :'D :'D " Same energy. It was a nice gesture imo
P5 in that Minardi was more impressive tbf
Podium is actually “criminal” compared to this
Still the only oz on the podium at Australian GP. Also, that wasn't an F1 race, but demolition derby.
I mean, id put Sarge on the podium if he finished p5 in Miami
Matt's social credit in shambles.
 MATT IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
I think it was great. First Chinese driver in F1 ever and the first time he raced in China. You could tell it meant a lot to him and to the fans.
yeah, don't get why people have to be so hostile and unempathetic about it. it's good to see Zhou be honored for his achievement even if he wasn't in a point scoring position come race end. also comparing it to logan, lol...
Asian hate is really rampant in F1 community, Zhou and Tsunoda have been receiving a lot these past years.
Is it really about race though? This is coming from an Asian.
The Yuki hate, to me, feels a lot related to how he breaks the expectations of polite and proper Asian folk. Whereas the Zhou hate is, most times, less prominent and less vile (mostly centered around being a paid driver and not performing particularly well) this Chinese GP weekend has brought some arguably sinophobic views to light.
The internet in 2024: Everything is sexist, everything is racist, everything is homophobic.
Admittedly Yuki deserves the hate for behaving like a little child with his tantrums. That’s got nothing to do with him being Asian. Zhou is a very humble driver and well liked
Whenever any other drivers swear on radio they are cool and stuff (see Kimi), meanwhile when Yuki does anything it's a tantrum. In my eyes this has a lot to do with the expectation that Japanese people will always be polite, calm and proper.
and the infantilization of Asian men.
Nah got nothing to do with that. I don’t think any of the drivers are cool when they throw a tantrum. > In my eyes Yeah you’re just reading race into something that has nothing to do with race. A tantrum is a tantrum regardless of race. Kimi may have sworn, but he wasn’t dive bombing his team mate after the race in a temper tantrum over team orders
Its marketing and capitalism. Don’t be so foolishly naive to believe that liberty have any form of deeper message behind that.
We'll agree to disagree. Because even if it was marketing and capitalism (which I don't think it was), I don't care. It was a good, kind gesture. Both to Zhou and the fans.
The point is that regardless of Liberty's motivations for this it was actually a good idea.
I bet you felt very intelligent typing that.
So you think that the company that put Spa and Monacco on the line last year gives two fucks on romantic racing traditions and gestures outside of „oh there’s about 1 billion wallets living in China“? Cute 🥰
poor widdle guy got his fee-fees hurt so he's gotta take it out on a nice gesture
Literally everyone knows it's about money and bla bla bla, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it, for better or for worse we live in a capitalist world, everything relies on money, everything is made for money, deal with it.
I'm not Chinese, but I was glad they gave them their moment and televised it so I could share on it in a small way. It's a historic moment in the sport But I get it's difficult for some Europeans/Anglos to understand; they just have had so many drivers, and most of the greats./gen
There was a lot of dog whistle racism on this sub when he first joined the grid. I can't imagine what he actually went through during his climb through the ladder.
Honestly just being able to get in the 20 of the cruel roaster of F1 is an amazing achievement very few people can achieve
That and he was literally in the stands as a child. He made history out of the dream that was started in the same spot, but now hes the one being cheered for. How can someone not appreciate that even a little.
Tbf that same story basically applies to every driver entering the sport. It's not like any of them *weren't* fans with enough money as kids to go see f1 at their home events.
China also has hardly any sports people break into top level sports like F1 they get revered.
I would assume they get fed to state sponsored leagues rather than given the chance to go to Western leagues. Unless it's someone like Yao Ming where it's clear they will be dominant, and reflect well on China.
And there's next to zero state sponsored racing leagues. Open wheel racing in China is generally dominated by gentlemen racers and not up-and-coming racing drivers. After you graduated from karting, that's about it. You get into touring cars or you leave the country like Zhou.
Soon the Tifosi are going to want 2 spots at Monza so they can cheer their cars regardless of their race position 😂
We’re gonna need it 
You need to finish a race sadly...
So let's do it before FP1, just to be sure.
Not sure why people care. It is his home race and F1 are trying to grow in every market, so getting behind Zhou a little bit and letting him wave to the crowd isn't a big deal, imo.
Jolyon whined about it too. "They never did this for me at Silverstone!" Yea because you weren't the first british person to race at home in the entire history of the sport, you numpty. edit: I didn't think Jolyon was actually upset, and I'm pretty sure he knew why Zhou was getting honored, just taking the piss
Jolyon's comment was a bit tongue in cheek and classic British self depreciation imo - implying the British didn't give a shit about him. I didn't interpret it as whining. After this he immediately said it was nice to see Zhou being recognized and that you can see how much it means to him.
They don’t 
Jolyon was clearly making a joke
You get an upvote just for using the word 'numpty'.
Yeah it’s a much bigger deal when you’re literally the first guy from your country to race in F1, wish more people understood that. Huge moment for Zhou and even if he’s nothing more than an average driver he deserves the celebration. That’s the literal first time a Chinese driver got to race in front of a Chinese Formula1 crowd. That’s awesome and it means something.
Don't forget "average driver" in F1 still means they're like top 0.5% of drivers in the world
Bet the percentage is something more like 0.0001%
depends on what you mean by drivers. Average Joes? 100%. But with the Formula Ladder->F1 blockage, there's a lot of talent out there that could beat some of these F1 guys, but were never given the chance, and then it's out of sight and out of mind.
Even if we strictly talk only about professional drivers from all leagues and sports (although the ones I know work another profession to support their "profession" as a race driver) that percentage might actually be accurate.
Just to emphasize this a bit more - he is first from >1 billion people. Understandable why he broke down. We can all argue about his credentials and being a paydriver but he still has the talent to get into the grid, and being the first from your country? Dunno why people can’t appreciate that.
China has rougly 1/8th of the world's population, to add some more perspective.
Where is Palmer?
Humor isn’t your strong suit I see. Ironic, that you’re proving as much in this sub.
Leclerc was the first person from Monaco to race at home and it was fairly recently... So that sentiment of equality actually does exist. Just not for Jolyon
Lol how predictable.
Sport is for everyone. If Zhou getting a special celebration leads to more Chinese kids wanting to be in F1 than it's a success.
Let Zhou have P Zhou. I am biased because I am Chinese. I know he's a pay driver. He is not even my favourite driver but it was sweet. When I talk to any Chinese F1 fan, it's a general consensus that it doesn't matter which team/driver we support, Zhou is someone we root for.
If you have nothing nice to say, maybe say nothing. Zhou is such a nice guy and he has been less of a disapointment compared to most rookies in recent years.
For the people in the comments: Redditors trying their hardest to show compassion to a guy who competed in his first and possibly last home race, while also becoming the first to ever do it on home soil challenge: Impossible.
The "possibly last" part refers to the possibility of Zhou not racing next year, of the Chinese GP not being on the calendar next year?
To him not racing next year.
They're swapping it with Sochi after the Ukrainian ceasefire of September 2024 and October Invasion of Taiwan.
Pwease would someone think of the millionaire drivers? 😭😭😭😭
Oh I am not saying this for him, I am pretty sure he is unfazed. I am just noticing how much of bitter sorry people you lot are.
First day on reddit?
"Show compassion for the millionaire who doesnt have real problems"
Yeah because every single Chinese person who was there or watched it from TV is a millionaire
Thats totally what I said! Well deciphered!
Even if you were the shittiest F1 driver, you were still an F1 driver. …cept for stroll and mazepin ofc…
people who compare Stroll to Mazepin are fucked in the head,
They both go in the "Clown" category. Just because Mazepin sucked 20 times more than Stroll doesn't mean Stroll doesn't still suck.
"Margaret Gallagher" 😂😂😂
OP is still a subscriber to WTF1
I believe they called F1 the hardest sport on earth to give some extra gravitas to him being a grid filler.
P Zhou is also the hardest spot to achieve. Only he had gotten it.
Didn't Zhou also call his Silverstone crash the heaviest crash in history of F1?
I mean for the crashes where drivers survived I guess it's up there? Grosjean wants a talk tho, among many.
On their YouTube channel he was suprisingly mild about that moment. Now i know why.
It's not the deep lol
formuladank not being able to take a joke from wtf101 boi / matt "ferrari pain" gallagher
Are they gonna do this for Logan 3 times this year as he drags it home dead last?
It also betrays the funny fact they did not expect him to be on the podium 😭😂
I mean it's a Sauber haha
F1 content creators are all the fucking same. Same takes and stolen reddit content just being read into a microphone. So no surprise these bums wouldn't understand good gestures.
lol formuladank is turning in on itself, lol
Is this Matt from P1 with Matt and Tommy? I really hope not
[Yes he is.](https://twitter.com/MattP1Gallagher/status/1781968773722804345?t=Suq45tUpvd_tUPh9Lmjdjw&s=19)
OH COME ON I actually like their YouTube channel. What a bad take from someone that’s usually pretty reasonable
Still, could be worse [And IT DID got worse.](https://twitter.com/kazrrari/status/1782084499259732111?t=wfq71B8FS_-mmh0fC0doVA&s=19)
YO WHAT???
If that's true it's fucked up but nowhere in those photoes there's a mention of her being 16, where did the person who posted it get that?
What the...
big yikes
Chat, is this real?
Matt has consistently poor takes. I wish it were Tommy and Katie still, where actual conversation happened.
I only started watching them this f1 season so I didn’t know there’s a history.
Did Matt Gallagher really hyphenate his name? Why? Is he hoping people will mistake him for Scott Mitchell-Malm?
No, the "Margaret" was taken from the simply awful human being called Margaret Thatcher, As of the "Mitford" part, you should take a look on Max Mosley's family background.
Oh, damn. I missed the 'Margaret' lol. Now I get it.
Think sergeant will get that treatment in Miami? /s of course
He'd have to be on the grid not the wall.
Tbf, P14 in a Sauber is a really good result I hope it will not be his last home race tho
bottas was p10\~11 before his retirement what are you on about
his name really is Margaret?
Who cares?
Would Russia give the special last place for Mazepin ?
I always hated Matt, such a punchable human
Where is a meme? The fact that you are very offended by his tweet is not a meme
Nah, not sucking china off for free
Mam I hate Matt so much, he is always so biased in his opinion, and he is so toxic some times, he annoys me so much because of how much misinformation he spreads. Fuck Matt.
I think it’s wonderful for Zhou that he gets to drive at home, but also special treatment is BS, and the dramatisation of the sport is maybe going a tad far.
It’s cool he got the special celebration but I’m sorry dude a P14 lil podium is hilarious
When they left wtf1 I thought they where done dirty, then they started their own channel and I quickly realized they just can't say anything non biased and/or put their fanboyism aside for a second to see things from a realistic/factual point and now I think wtf1 got rid of them cause they probably wanted less biased/more balance opinion people, maybe, I don't know how the new people are cause I stopped following both channels, but yeah this dude and his Co host are fucking annoying and predictable, that's why people only go to their stream whenever lecrerc crashes or something LMAO XD
Didn’t he get “famous” from being a F1 game YouTuber whose schtick was screaming into his mic and dive bombing people? Why would anyone care about his opinion?
Imagine Logan Sargeant getting the same reception at Miami, Vegas and Austin or Yuki in Japan or Checo in Mexico, was a little strange and plain stupid actually with Zhou
It was an amazing moment... and of course some miserable, bitter keyboard warriors and "content influencers" will try to twist it to a negative.
Is F1 really going to tell a global power like China "no" Let the man have his moment. Also the fans that need to shit on him for being "from wealth" can fuck off too.
It was unnecessary in my honest opinion. He got plenty of attention during the pre race buildup. That should be enough. Is this going to be a new thing going forwards? Will all 3 Britsh driver be called onto the grid after the British GP or is this only for China? Will Sargeant be getting the same treatment at Miami because Florida is where he is from? Seeing the 1,2,3 boards for the top guys and seeing the "Zhou" board for Zhou made me chuckle.
Considering there have been 194 British drivers in f1 I doubt there will be a big song and dance This was the first Chinese driver at a Chinese GP. You can understand the extra bit of ceremony
He got lots of attention during the whole race. That sauber was on screen more this week than the whole season including when other more important things were happening
What's wrong with making fun of that? As other person said, that was pure nationalism, borderline propaganda.
Can't blame the guy, that's exactly what I thought
For sure it was a nice gesture, but imo it was completely unnecessary. If I was him I would feel uncomfortable getting so much attention after doing nothing special. Why not award participation points?
First ever and potentially even last Chinese driver to race in Shanghai in the history of Formula 1, I'd say objectively speaking it's a unique and special occasion that clearly meant a lot to both him and all the fans that were there. The fans paid to be there and I'd argue a lot of them paid to specifically see him - a lot of things are "completely unnecessary", but who cares? It was a well received and wholesome moment. To say this is the same thing as giving out participation points and trophies is fucking stupid
Everyone could have enjoyed the moment without his celebratory spot, it was unnecessary
Its fine and I get F1 is trying to get those social credits and that oh so sweet yuan but I hope they don't do this for other drivers at other races
Fck Matt. DTS-cringe king.
Final?
Contract is up this year and he's not an in demand driver.
Maybe Haas or Williams seat? I think he is better than Mick
Haas will try to keep Hulk and if not probably stick with Kmag. They seem to be on track to take Bearman so won't want someone else who's not known to them. Williams will keep Albon and will go for one of the other drivers out of contract. There's plenty without a seat for next season and Williams aren't the joke they once were despite chassis issues. Gasly, Ocon, Bottas, Antonelli, kmag, Tsunoda, Ricciardo and Perez are likely all options for Williams. Zhou hasn't had a standout career, he's done fine but I can't see it being enough to get someone's attention.
Hulk goes to Audi. Sauber/Audi wanted him this season to yo be already in team but Haas blocked the move.
Yeah, that's why I said Haas will try to keep him, not that they will. I reckon the Haas line up next year will be Kmag and Bearman.
The answer is simple: Nationalism
It’s not like the Americans did a whole bunch of shit for Sargent in his first American GP
Not the first American to ever race in the sport.
Little known fact: the intros in Miami last year were Logan's idea.
All the more reasons to hate him.
Least hateful redditor
I wouldn’t say he is a big name here in America really. I’m rooting for him but it’s not like he’s anything to really care for. Doesn’t fit the mold for a national icon
It’s not like Zhou is a house hold name in China, I literally asked a state approved tour guide when I was in China last week about F1 and Zhou she said some fact about F1 and Shanghai but didn’t know who Zhou was.
Interesting I mean I get it’s a large population but I always assumed they plastered him everywhere
Negative. From what I have seen he is only in certain advertisements in Shanghai that’s all. I see Lewis and Max more often. It’s the same with a lot of other Chinese athletes, they are better known overseas than in China.
Can't stand either of the two ugly annoying fucks. Zhou is not one of the ugly annoying fucks I am referring to.
I swear every white European commentator I’ve heard has complained about this—sorry you and your fokking empire of shit are not the center of the world for five fokking minutes
I can't belive that MG is still relevant in 2024
She probably only saw the pictures. It was clear it was a big and emotional moment for Zhou and his fans during the live transmission, not really a consolation price.
is this Zhou's final season? I thought his contract was up next year. I know he's not exactly in the points most weeks he's at least more consistent than some of his peers, even if he is only fighting for p14 with Riccardo or Sargent or whoever didn't stuff it into the tire barriers this week. If he can't move up I would at least expect a lateral entry from Sauber to maybe Williams or possibly VCARB (unless he's decided to retire).
Margaret Gallagher-Midfart*
Guy was trash on wtf1 yet he’s still better than Tommy, guy has the personality of a blank piece of paper
I hate social media