Named after Steven Gerrard, meet the next Chinese racing driver accelerating to top
Hong Kong-born, Shenzhen-raised Gerrard Xie has gone from crying behind the wheel to racing in Formula 3
When Hong Kong-born Formula 3 driver Gerrard Xie Yonglin was a baby, the only way his parents could stop him crying was by letting him sit in the driving seat of their car and play with the steering wheel.
The 18-year-old told the Post that by the time he was six, he could name all the cars he saw on the streets of Shenzhen, the city neighbouring Hong Kong where he was raised.
Harnessing their child’s automobile obsession, Xie’s parents took him to a local karting track so he could complete a one-day course and get his racing licence. The driving school was hosting a competition two days later and asked Xie whether, despite his inexperience, he wanted to join.
“My dad was like, ‘Why not?’ because he saw I was having fun,” Xie said. “It was only a small local race, but I won, even though I had no idea what was going on.”
It was not the first sporting legacy Xie’s father gave his son: his English name comes from Xie Snr’s love for Liverpool FC and their former captain Steven Gerrard.
But the youngster’s ambitions had wheels, and this weekend he features in his second FIA Formula 3 Championship race for the Hitech TGR team, in Bahrain.