Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Another question to you, Zhou. Some things in life are worth waiting for and you’ve been waiting for this moment for a couple of years longer than you first thought. So take us through what your emotions are, what you feel they might be standing on the grid listening to the anthem on Sunday? And it’s a two-part question: what are you doing at the moment to make sure this isn’t the last time you race in your home Grand Prix?
ZG: Firstly, my first race, I watched back in the day in 2004. The man sitting next to me [Alonso] was racing already! Can’t imagine how he is still here, racing at a very high level. But for me, of course, it’s been 20 years waiting for this Grand Prix. And, yeah, let’s say this journey has been not extremely easy, just because where I’m coming from, and also, you know, trying to win at least a lot of races in feeder series to be here. And then once in F1, every year, of course, when you realise that the home race is not happening, two years in a row, we try to kind of do your best to maintain your seat and then to be here, today… So for me, of course, I’m still focused on my job, like always said, I know this is very, let’s say a mix of emotions going to this weekend, especially when we have on Sunday with the national anthem going on and also the memory, you know, quickly reflect on your mind. But as much as I am a race driver, I think the most important, critical thing is to do the right job on track, which is try to score points, give the maximum I have on the package on the car we have, which, I feel like we have potential even though it’s not a track I know the best in terms of the layout. I never drove here in a single seater. But I still feel like we have a good opportunity with the format. And for myself, I think we just focus on that. And hopefully, it’s not going to be the only one because I’m planning hopefully to stay here as long as I could. And everybody loves to be having a long career in Formula 1 and that’s where we dream to be. So yeah, let’s get over this weekend in a positive way, hopefully reach some good results on Sunday.
Q: (Diego Mejia – Fox Sports, Mexico) A question to Fernando and if any other driver wants to comment. How will you change your approach with the new format on the Sprint weekend, having a race and three hours later a qualifying session that’s going to be decisive for Sunday, if that changes the approach and also the parc fermé rules.
FA: I don’t think it’s going to change much the approach to any other Sprint weekend that we had last year. We only have now the opportunity after the Sprint race to change the car. So everything that we may learn on the qualifying and that mini race, we may change things for the rest of the weekend and that will be the only freedom that we have now – and it will be used for sure.
EO: Yeah, I mean, it’s not really different to any other Sprint weekend. It’s just that here… We haven’t been here for a while, for sure, so if FP1 is going to be crucial before you get to that first Sprint qualifying. You know, luckily, if things go wrong in that first stage of the weekend, you can always change the set-up back, which is a new thing. So, yeah, probably a bit more experimental things you can try for that first stage of the weekend, but otherwise, yeah, it’s not a huge difference.
Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN, Spain) Again, a question to Charles. Both drivers in Ferrari are doing a super good job this year. But Carlos has been in front in the three races he has raced. Is he adapting better to the car or what do you think?
CL: No, I think it’s as simple as he’s doing a better job. Again, I think in Bahrain, it’s difficult to compare, because on my side, I was facing issues. And I think it was a very strong weekend apart from that on my side. However, in the last two races, he’s just been stronger. So it’s up to me now to work, especially on the qualifying pace, which is normally a strength. I’ve been struggling to put the lap together. It’s a very fine line to get it right or completely wrong on the out lap and putting the tyres in the right window. And for now, I have been struggling more than what Carlos has done. And he’s driving at a very high level, which I think is great for the team. It’s great for me as well. And I have been working a lot on that. And normally when I work on points, I’m quite confident on improving pretty quickly. So I’m not worried. But obviously now I need to show that on track, starting from tomorrow in qualifying.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Just a final question to Fernando. Now that you’ve signed a two-year deal, what assurances have you had from Honda that they won’t be giving you a GP2 engine for 2026 and beyond?
FA: Well, they are winning the championship now, so they are demonstrating that they have the discipline and the work that is needed to succeed in Formula 1. Obviously, new regulations, no one knows what could happen in 2026. But yeah, we are extremely happy to work with Honda. And to be, as I said, a works team for the power unit, I think it makes a huge difference to what we currently have. So that’s a plus and that’s one of the reasons that I stayed into the new regulations, and to have the opportunity to work with Honda again. And as I said, I feel that we will have an advantage.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) I don’t know if any of you drivers have had an opportunity to inspect the track as yet. But Charles mentioned it earlier, and a couple of other drivers have mentioned it in their media sessions earlier today, that the track has been painted. What does that means pecifically? Do you know? Does it cause any concerns? What issues are you expecting from such a track?
LN: I have no idea. So I think we have to wait and see honestly, I think that’s something new, something we don’t think we’ve seen before, so hard to predict exactly what’s going to happen. So I honestly have no idea. So I’ll see you tomorrow.
CL: Yeah, it’s difficult to predict because I think also, it depends a lot on the type of paint they use. And that can cause different issues or have no issues at all, which hope it’s the latter that will be the case tomorrow, but for now, it’s very difficult to predict. I have only seen pictures, so I haven’t gone around the track yet. I don’t think it’s the same everywhere, which also might not be great. But yeah, before adding further comments, I think we just have to drive and see how it feels. Maybe it’s actually a completely fine, so we’ll find out tomorrow.
EO: Yeah, I agree with Charles, I mean, I haven’t been around it. I just saw pictures for the moment. It could be slippery in the wet, could be very high grip, we can’t really tell until we really try. But that’s what I was, you know, speaking to Charles about. A long time ago, in our go-kart days, there was sort of paint put on tracks and it used to put down rubber and keep rubber a lot in corners. So that had a lot of grip. I don’t expect that to be the case. But, you know, it could do a lot of different things.
ZG: For me, obviously I haven’t been really driving here. Last time I drove here was in a road car, so I’m not going to comment much on that.
FA: Yeah, let’s wait and see. Until we drive we will not know.
NH: Yep, same. It depends on the type of the paint. We’ll get more of an idea once the Safety Car out, maybe in the afternoon. But same for everyone.
Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhua News Agency) To all the drivers briefly. It’s been a while since we’ve been to the Shanghai circuit. Just keen to hear your thoughts on it. And any particular features that make it especially challenging or memorable for you?
NH: Personally, I like it. It’s got a nice flow to it. Some technical bits, obviously a few really long duration corners. Turn 1. 2, it feels like it’s going on forever and then it gets really tight. And then that Turn 14 leading on to the long straight. But yeah, good memories and good vibe around here for me.
FA: Yeah, I love this this place as well. The circuit is very challenging. Turn 1 being the most special corner, very unique in the championship. So yeah, let’s see, normally high deg. Lots of overtaking opportunities. So good racing.
ZG: Yeah, for me, obviously, you know, trying a few simulators, Turn 1 looks to be the most tricky part of the circuit. And yeah, in general, I think the circuit is more like medium-, high-speed, with a few overtaking spots on the back straight. So yeah, will be fun, I think it definitely won’t be a boring race on the weekend.
EO: I look forward to driving on this track. Again, as the other guys said, I think it’s very unique to have such long corners at such high speed in the championship. I think it opens up for good racing opportunities as well, just before the long straight for the traction. And, yeah, at the end of the straight is where you have a big braking, so I think it’s quite a cool one for racing. So yeah, a long time that we haven’t race here, new cars as well. So hopefully we can follow better through the high speed. And yeah, we’ll see what that brings us.
CL: I have only race twice here. But it’s always been a very, very interesting track. Very nice track to drive on and a track where there are many, many different lines possible, especially in Turns 1, 2, 3. And all those long corners, they are very different ways of taking those corners, which makes it exciting for us. And having only one free practice before qualifying, we’ll have to find the best way as quickly as possible. But again, it’s an exciting challenge.
LN: I always raced here once, but I didn’t finish the race. So not the best memories. But yeah, it was still in my first season. So everything was new back then. But it’s always been a cool track to drive. Definitely was not my back then. But excited to give it another crack and see what we can do this weekend.
Q: (Henry Clark – Daily Mail) I was wondering, obviously a lot of tracks that we come to, it’s only been a year or so since you’ve last been here. But for everyone here there has been no race for at least five years. I was wondering what are the unique challenges that brings? Does that make this weekend particularly exciting? Or are there extra worries that come with that?
LN: I guess just excited. Always excited for every weekend, but especially when you haven’t been to a place for a while. For me, I didn’t get a proper experience of it back in 2019. So things have changed. I’m a very different driver to what I was back then. So I’m excited to see what it brings and how the whole weekend pans out I think anyway being a Sprint race and having two opportunities to try and nail the set-up for the first quali and then the set-up for the second quali. I think also there is plenty of opportunity. So I don’t think it’s not going to be exciting for anyone. I think there’s a lot of opportunities on the table, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong at the same time, so excited for all of it.
CL: Yeah, no particular feelings obviously. As it’s Sprint weekend, there’s more preparation going into a Sprint and even more so on a track where we haven’t been for five years. However, there are also lots of unknown the paint, for example, as well as the track changes because the track changes over time, the bumps are maybe a bit bigger compared to a few years ago when we came here, but this we will only learn, all this new information, tomorrow. So adapting quickly will be very important. But there’s been a lot of preparation as it’s always the case on Sprint weekends.
EO: Yeah, a lot for us to discover on our side, you know, having the upgrades on the car as well on top of having not raced here for four or five years. There’s going to be a lot to see, a lot of fine tuning needed, a lot of understanding, going through. So, we don’t really have enough time, let’s put it that way, before we get into an important session. But it’s part of the game. It’s a challenge that I like, you know. You need to be ready. You need to nail every little detail before you get to the session that counts and yeah, that’s pretty cool as a challenge.
ZG: Yeah, I mean, all the others pretty much covered everything I think. From my side you know, it’s really important to have the confidence straightaway on the track and then we can quickly adapt, changing a little bit the driving line to see what we can extract from the set-up, balance and also the circuit come to quali all the teams, drivers are still going to be learning new things for our quali laps.
FA: Not much to say.
NH: It’s going to be busy. It’s going to be hectic, you know, to process everything very quickly going into a Sprint weekend. It’s a challenge, but also offers opportunities, probably.
Q: (Gustav Theodor – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) two questions for Zhou. The excitement in the city about you driving here is obviously huge. Your face is all over the subway, you had lots of events the past few days. What does this mean for you? Is this pressure? Is this a distraction or a motivational boost? And the second question is, since the last race here in China, the Chinese car industry has caught up big time, as we are witnessing. You also work together with Ziker, I think. But the companies don’t really play a role in Formula 1 yet. Would you want them to step up their game in Formula 1?
ZG: Firstly, I think I’ve been extremely busy. One of the busiest men probably in Shanghai over the last week and a half after the Japanese Grand Prix. I came straight back, a lot activities done. And also a lot of meet and greets with fans, people like that. It’s great to say, for support from the country already. And for me, the pressure, of course, this race is a little bit higher, but I don’t think it gets much more than probably my first race, my debut in Formula 1 because by now everything feels a lot more familiar than back in the day. You know, everything was very new. And first day here is completely different to now, third season. So I’m just going to use that, like I already mentioned, this is a normal weekend, as much as I, you know, will enjoy this whole weekend experience. And then yeah, for me, working together with some Chinese brands or car companies, they are based in the Geely group, so, for me, one of the biggest car companies in the whole China. So, one day, hopefully a dream to have manufacturers involved in Formula 1 that can help a lot, not just myself, also other young generations coming from China, Chinese drivers to help them guide their way into Formula 1. Of course, I would love to have more companies like that involved. But now, you know, I’m happy with what I’m driving with Sauber and, you know, focus on the weekend job and try to do the best possible.
Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xingua News Agency) Zhouo, it’s been well documented that you’re the only Chinese F1 driver that there’s ever been and looking at F2 and F3 there are no Chinese drivers in those series. So after you, there’s nobody from China who’s really close to F1 at the moment. Why do you think that so few Chinese drivers are making it through to the top levels of motorsport and what needs to change In order for more Chinese drivers to get here?
ZG: I think mainly the history, the culture with motorsports only started 20 years ago. So if you’re considering, let’s say, the European, how much Formula 1, the passion they had, now is, you know, improving this is probably this Grand Prix is being a record in terms of the tickets. It was sold out, always in like 20 or 30 minutes, and, you know, it used to be, you could still always find a few seats, you know, two to three weeks before the race, so, never been like this before. But you really see the country is growing, but also it’s having some high inputs, having more like multiple companies, manufacturers, starting being involved with different Formula 1 teams. But of course, I think to be able to have more drivers on this grid is going to be very difficult for the next 5, 10 years, just because, for example, a perfect example, Honda, they have this Honda dream project, and you have young drivers who get picked up from very young age, and that culture of motorsport in Japan is very high. But for us, we need to build that and it doesn’t take you know… Twenty years is not enough. It takes another probably 5, 10 years to build in the similar level, then you can reach out to Europe, hopefully, put them in the feeder series. And yeah, if they can do well, winning races, finishing top there in their championship, and they can, you know, guide their way to Formula 1, but I don’t think it’s been a very easy job for, you know, for the next few years for any drivers to be here.
Q: (Joe Cash – Reuters) Zhou, I’m curious, because Formula 1 has finally come back to China after such a long time. But it’s come at a point where the economy is not doing well. Politically, people don’t want to look too extravagant. Do you think that it’s feasible that this young generation can come up given that karting classes in this country are so expensive, and families are watching what they’re spending? Do you think there needs to be more support from government? Or how does the pipeline come after yourself?
ZG: Yeah, I mean, for me, I obviously don’t want to get into too much on the politics side and things in government. But let’s say the biggest difference in motorsports, Formula 1 is that you don’t get too much of a country’s support behind. And of course, to being an F1 driver, you need some financial support. That’s clear. But I don’t think in China we have enough families, people that have the budget, and also, hopefully, the interests that they can get involved in Formula 1. But it takes a lot. It’s easy to be a racing driver as a hobby. But to take this professional journey, only 20 of us drivers to be here, it’s not an easy one. The amount of sacrifice and also the hard work behind the scenes for every individual drivers to be there, it’s very complex. And also, it takes a lot of time. And for me, happy to be kind of the role model in this country. But still, I think you need to put effort into that. And also, having a lot companies, manufacturer involved in helping the young generation, to guide them forward. And yeah, let’s see what I can do. Maybe when I retire from racing to help more, but at the moment, I’m just hoping to inspire some young people, and they can come a long way.
Q: (Henry Clark – Daily Mail) With all due respect to some of the more senior drivers, a question to a couple of the younger guys on the panel. When you see Fernando committing his future to racing well into his 40s, how impressive is that dedication? How much does it take to keep doing that? And also, do you see yourselves wanting to race for as long as that in your own careers?
LN: I’d better be careful what I say. I think it takes a lot of dedication. I don’t think anyone thinks Fernando lacks that in any way. I think he shows that with everything that he does in life. Whether it’s at the track or away from the track, you know, in different sports or whatever. So it depends what you want to do. Everyone is different. It’s rare that you see someone commit for so long in any sport, you know, he’s probably one of the oldest guys competing at the top of any sport in the world and I think to be able to do that at the level that he has done and continues to do, you’re probably never going to potentially see it again, you know within Formula 1 and if you do, it’s going be extremely rare. So yeah, I think a lot of lot of respect for that kind of thing. I have no idea if I want to do it in 20 years’ time, if I’m still going strong, but I love where I am now and I continue to do such a thing. Yeah, we’ll see.
CL: Yeah, it’s difficult to imagine myself in 15 or 18 years’ time still in Formula 1. However, we can definitely see how motivated Fernando still is and how high of a level he’s still performing at the moment and this is what matters at the end. Age is a number but what he’s showing on track is still at a very, very high level. On my side, I would love to be racing still for many years. However, I’m not so sure whether in Formula 1. I would like to experience other things like Le Mans, that’s definitely a place where I will see myself race one day. But yeah, I mean as long as I am fully motivated then I will race and I love what I do,. so for now that’s what I want to do for the longest time possible.
EO: Huge respect for Fernando. Since I’ve been very little I’ve been watching him competing, against Michael and you know, these two guys are the guys that gave me the love for the sport. So, to still be racing with Fernando now it’s very incredible. And just to see the career he has done, he’s won in everything, basically. He’s won in karting, he’s won in Le Mans, in the States in sports cars, everything he’s competed in he has almost won. And that’s more than remarkable. And it’s a dream carrier for any athlete or racing driver. So yeah, I don’t know if I would still be racing at his age. But truly, his dedication is something that is an example for all of us.
ZG: Yeah, for myself, I think it’s an incredible journey that Fernando has done. And, of course, it’s a lot easier to say than to do. I would love to be racing in Formula 1 for many more years, that’s for sure. That’s what I’m most passionate about and driving these cars as well. And from my side, of course, back in the day, he was kind of my racing role model that I was looking for and it’s great to be seeing him still performing a very high level. And yeah, just really enjoy it. Hopefully we can sooner battle for some positions on track and having some fun.
Q: Fernando? They summed it up well?
Fernando Alonso: To good, yes? Let’s see tomorrow on track.
Q: Nico, a few words from you to end the press conference?
NH: It was for the young ones? Yeah, I mean, all of what they said. Obviously, I’m not as far away as these guys. It’s always difficult to predict the future, how long you want to do something. I think a couple more years. Forty? It’s not that crazy far away from me personally. Let’s see.
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- FIA Thursday press conference – 2024 Chinese Grand Prix
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