Source: REUTERS/JAKUB PORZYCKI
[Saba Sports News] After the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Ferrari F1 team held a farewell ceremony for Carlos Sainz. Reflecting on every moment over the years, Sainz shed tears on the spot. During the farewell ceremony, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu also came to join in the fun and presented Sainz with a special Christmas gift. It turns out that during the F1 Qatar Grand Prix, Sainz and Zhou Guanyu made a bet that if Zhou could score points for the Sauber F1 team before the end of the season, Sainz would wear a chili suit. Obviously, Zhou Guanyu won the bet, so he brought the chili suit to Sainz to hold him to his promise. Zhou Guanyu’s connection with Sainz began during this season’s F1 Monaco Grand Prix. In the Monaco race, Sainz collided with Oscar Piastri in the first lap, causing a flat tire and dropping to the back. At that time, Sainz faced almost impossible odds to return to the points zone. However, at that moment, the race was red-flagged due to an incident involving Perez and Kevin Magnussen. According to the rules, the FIA needed to determine the restart order. After Perez’s incident, Zhou Guanyu, for safety and to avoid debris, passed through the accident section slowly, which meant he had not crossed the S1 timing line when the red flag was displayed, preventing the race director from using S1 as a reference point for determining the restart order and forcing him to rely on the earlier SC2 safety car line. At that time, Sainz was still in third place and had not yet collided with Piastri’s car. Thanks to Zhou Guanyu’s “assist,” Sainz retained P3 position during the race restart, paving the way for him to reach the podium.