Guanyu Zhou almost lost control of his car when trying to overtake Yuki Tsunoda at the Monaco GP and admitted to a scare when he almost became a passenger inside his own car
In his first Formula One appearance in the Principality of Monaco, Guanyu Zhou admitted that he had a "scary" moment during the race, when he almost lost control of his car while trying to overtake Yuki Tsunoda at the exit of the tunnel. The Chinese driver's car even went sideways, but he managed to hold the Alfa Romeo on the track. After the race, the rookie explained what happened at that moment.
"It was very wet on the inside and there is not much vacuum that you can gain," Zhou explained. "That was probably one of the laps where I was closest to Yuki [Tsunoda], so I really had to dive on the inside at the last moment," he stated.
Zhou said that Tsunoda's move - which was slightly to the left before braking - meant that he needed to go on the outside, at which point he hit a puddle and almost spun. The Chinese driver also lost a position when he passed straight through the chicane to Nicholas Latifi's Williams, and tried to summarize the scare he got the moment the car 'whipped'.
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"Unfortunately, he tried to cover a bit, and at that moment, I tried to avoid and hit the water puddle," he lamented. "There, it was just about keeping the car on the track," added Zhou, who also stated over the radio that he would need "new pants" after the near incident.
Despite the emotional moment, the Chinese driver prefers not to repeat it. According to Zhou, it was quite scary to see the car spinning from inside the cockpit - especially on such a tight circuit. "It was not very cool from inside the cockpit, it was quite scary, a complicated moment," he acknowledged. "But it will be nice to have a look at the replay," he said.
Finally, the driver acknowledged that his first experience in Monaco inside a Formula 1 car was complicated, but at least he took a positive point from the difficulties. In Zhou's opinion, the other races in the rain will become easier now that he has experienced Monaco, one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar.
"It was a difficult race, I think one of the most difficult, but we experienced all the different conditions," he said. "I think normal racing in the rain will be a little bit better now, after having the experience in Monaco," he finished.