Source: REUTERS/DARRON CUMMINGS
[Saba Sports News] January 11 marked a significant event in China’s social media realm—the Weibo Night Gala. Zhou Guanyu, China’s first F1 driver, was awarded the Weibo Annual Sports Spirit Award. During his acceptance speech, he expressed his excitement, stating that it took him twenty years to achieve his dream and make the breakthrough from zero to one. Now, with global attention on Chinese racing, he will continue to work hard and hopes everyone will keep supporting motorsport. It is reported that F1 is the most expensive sport in the world, and it is unrivaled. Besides being costly, it is also the highest level of competition in the technology industry. In the past, F1’s center was always in Europe, and China was almost a desert for racing, lacking a system to cultivate excellent drivers. The key to successfully cultivating Zhou Guanyu was one person—his father, Zhou Wenfang. Three years ago, Zhou Guanyu was signed by the Sauber F1 team, with rumors suggesting that he was brought in with funding, as his father reportedly sponsored the team with 30 million euros. Additionally, it is said that when Zhou Guanyu was eight years old, his father invested 12 million euros to build a racetrack in Weifang, China, to develop his son’s racing abilities, which was the largest and most advanced go-kart track in China at the time. This shows that wealth combined with strength is the key to Zhou Guanyu’s success.