Security forced to step in as F1 star MOBBED by fans in return to home country

Zhou Guanyu

Security forced to step in as F1 star MOBBED by fans in return to home country

He hasn't lived in the nation of his birth for years but always gets a hero's welcome when he returns

Joe Ellis

Monday 7 August 2023 20:12

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Zhou Guanyu has used the F1 summer break as a chance to return to China after several years away.

The Alfa Romeo driver lives in the UK and has done since his school days as a result of pursuing motorsport as a career.

COVID-19 has made returning to China, the place of his birth, very tough since he made his F1 debut in 2022 but he has finally returned home.

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Zhou posted a video on his Instagram stories of him arriving at Shanghai airport with security having to create a path through the hundreds of adoring fans waiting for him.

Untapped potential

The Chinese GP has been cancelled every year since the COVID-19 pandemic began

F1 used to have a huge presence in China, racing at the Shanghai International Circuit each year and attracting a big audience both at the track and on TV.

But the sport is yet to go back to one of the biggest nations in the world since the COVID-19 pandemic and Zhou still hasn't had a home race.

For all of F1's push to go big in North America, it has seemingly forgotten about the huge population in Asia and how passionate they are about motorsport.

China is once again on the calendar for 2024 and the sport shouldn't have any issues in finally returning to tap into some of the huge commercial potential China has to offer.