Jacques Villeneuve Is No Fan Of Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu has seen better days in Formula 1 before. Really? How so? As a matter of fact, it was back in 2022, which was his maiden F1 season, where he scored points in three F1 races. More importantly and rather impressively, the Chinese driver was just 22 back then when he scored a fighting tenth at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. This was to be his first-ever Formula 1 race.

But then, the human tendency, it could be said, is that there are more people who underline and highlight the dark days and the tough periods, instead of the positive outcomes. Do they?

The man who even scored points in his first-ever visit to Formula 1’s “Temple of Speed” by scoring a tenth at Italy, had actually scored his best performance in that very year; the 2022 F1 season.

The P8 in Canada was Zhou Guanyu at his very best amid overcast and threatening conditions while driving an Alfa Romeo. And in the very same race, he did as well as scoring a very respectable P10 in the qualifying event at Montreal.

However, in the current scheme of things, the familiar drive and resilience seem to have waned off to some place in a manner in which the hero’s best friend vanishes from his life after the lad’s marriage (to typically speak of a movie).

But Zhou Guanyu, who would love to recover to some fine form having failed to score a single point, whatsoever, as on date, has found one particular critic. And it appears that Jacques Villeneuve is no fan of the Chinese driver at this time.

So why is that and what really has happened? What has the former Canadian F1 world champion said about Zhou Guanyu that is worth looking at?

“Zhou Guanyu has a big luggage of cash in his sponsors that he needs to put somewhere, whether that’s as an F1 driver or a reserve driver. Based on the results, Zhou doesn’t deserve a seat in F1. If a team can get all that sponsorship money that Zhou brings with him, even as a reserve drive, then it’s a great result for them.”

Having said that, it could be argued that the often critical and hugely outspoken Villeneuve may have wanted to fully confirm facts before letting out his point for the simplest of reasons that it didn’t take long for the Shanghai-born to dismiss these claims as just rumours.

But let us step aside from who said what and what wasn’t said. Another critical point worth noting is that while it is fully correct that Guanyu has not scored a single point in the 2024 season, as on date, the same is also true for his supremely experienced teammate who is called Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas is a multiple time F1 Grand Prix winner and has seen some of his finest days at Mercedes. But when pressure came along in the absence of a competitive fast car, the Bottas of the old has nowhere been found. One wonders, how does that rub off on Zhou Guanyu? What do you think Mr. Villeneuve?