Formula One: Zhou Guanyu hopes for rain – and more points – at Japanese Grand Prix
- Chinese rookie will start on the seventh row, with Saturday’s dry conditions hindering his run in qualifying
- Runaway championship leader Max Verstappen tops the time sheets as he looks to clinch his second title
Zhou Guanyu will start on the seventh row for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, and with a chance of rain the Chinese rookie refused to rule out another points finish.
The 23-year-old Zhou posted a time of 1 minute and 30.953 seconds in dry conditions during Saturday’s qualifying session at the Suzuka Circuit, leaving him 14th fastest with Alfa Romeo teammate Valtteri Bottas 12th in 1:30.709
“I’m happy with that,” he told reporters. “We had one session to get used to the dry conditions. It’s also the first time for me here.
“It’s been good progress throughout the day, but with track a like this, it’s so tight – every little bit matters. Unfortunately I don’t think we had the pace for Q3, but it was close.”
Zhou, who recently signed a contract extension with the team, crashed out last week in Singapore but is hoping to regain his momentum from Monza, where he finished 10th.
“That’s always the target,” Zhou said, of getting among the points again. “Especially looking at the weather, maybe with some rain dropping.
