’It feels nice’: Zhou edges world champion Verstappen in F1 testing

SAKHIR, Bahrain: China’s Zhou Guanyu succeeded where many others have failed on Friday by out-pacing Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and admitted “it feels nice to see my name up there.” Zhou clocked a best time of 1min 31.610sec off 132 laps in his Alfa Romeo on the second day of pre-season testing on the same Sakhir track which will stage the 2023 championship opener on March 5. “We are well aware this is testing, of course, and everyone is trying different settings, but it feels nice to see my name and that of the team up there in the timing sheets,” said 23-year-old Zhou. “It’s been a positive day overall, we got more mileage in and went through all the targets and tasks we had set for ourselves, so I can say I am happy.

“The car felt reasonably good, both in daytime and night-time conditions, and I felt more confident pushing as the day progressed.” Zhou was 18th in the 2022 championship, his first season in the sport, scoring six points in total. Teammate Valtteri Bottas, the vastly-experienced former Mercedes driver, was 10th with 49 points. “Today was the final day of pre-season testing for me, and I am very much looking forward to the start of the season next week.

I feel ready and excited about the new campaign and I can’t wait to be racing again,” added Zhou. Red Bull driver Verstappen, who was fastest on Thursday, was second behind Zhou in 1min 31.650sec off a modest 47 laps with fellow two-time world champion Fernando Alonso third in an Aston Martin with a best of 1min 32.205sec. Rookie Nyck De Vries of AlphaTauri was fourth.