Hinchcliffe feels 24-y/o F1 driver has ‘reason to celebrate’ despite ‘despised’ Bahrain GP

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James Hinchcliffe believes Zhou Guanyu has a ‘reason to celebrate’ his result at the Bahrain GP, despite the Stake F1 Team Sauber driver taking a ‘despised’ 11th place.

The 24-year-old came home one place outside of the points in Sakhir last Saturday to launch his 2024 season. It is Zhou’s third year on the Formula 1 grid with Sauber and is also another important term for the Chinese driver. He is once again racing on only a single-year contract.

Sauber chose to retain Zhou as Valtteri Bottas’ teammate for 2024 as the Hinwil, Switzerland natives transitioned from their Alfa Romeo title sponsorship to Stake F1 Team. The outfit are also putting plans in place for their eventual switch to becoming Audi’s works entry in 2026.

Zhou Guanyu climbed from P17 to P11 for Sauber at the Bahrain GP

Zhou has only ever experienced racing in Formula 1 with Sauber and has only taken points in six Grand Prix. He further matched his total of six points from 2022 to get P18 in the drivers’ standings again in 2023. The Shanghai native finished in the top 10 in three races each term.

Only qualifying in P17 for the 2024 season-opening Bahrain GP, with Bottas 0.001 seconds in front for P16, will not have given Zhou much confidence in Sauber’s points-scoring potential. Yet, while Bottas went backwards to finish in P19, Zhou improved for 11th after a solid drive.

A 52-second pit stop owing to a cross-threaded wheel nut, as well as front wing damage, did not aid Bottas. The 34-year-old broke an end plate after hitting the rear of Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas amid the German’s collision with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll into Turn 1 on Lap 1.

James Hinchcliffe feels Zhou Guanyu ‘deserves to be recognised’

The first-corner collision aided Zhou’s bid to climb up the Bahrain GP grid before Sauber’s strategy paid further dividends. But the Shanghai native – due to contest his first Chinese GP in April – could not keep Stroll behind to score a point as he risked tearing through his tyres.

Still, IndyCar race-winner turned Formula 1 pundit, Hinchcliffe, feels Zhou should take pride in the Sauber star’s Bahrain GP. He believes the former member of Alpine’s driver academy drove a strong race to extract the most from the C44 ahead of this week’s Saudi Arabian GP.

“Eleventh is often the most despised classification among drivers in Formula 1,” he told F1’s website. “But, in this case, there is a reason for it to be celebrated. Although he missed out on a point, Zhou had a very strong drive on Saturday and it deserves to be recognised.

“He started a lowly 17th on the grid. But a slick first lap – no doubt aided by some first-turn dramatics – saw him end up 13th at the end of Lap 1.

“From there, the Sauber strategy department played the undercut game beautifully on the first stop, elevating him into the points in 10th. On the second stop, Lance Stroll beat Zhou to the undercut by a lap, vaulting him past the Chinese driver, with the race ending in that order. Stroll just beating him out for the final point.

“Still, it was a strong drive to be at the leading edge of the second half of the field, ready to capitalise had any of the top 10 had issues.”