"Winning seven years is crazy"- Zhou Guanyu lauds Lewis Hamilton for winning F1 titles despite facing racist comments

Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu commended Lewis Hamilton for his consistency and winning seven F1 titles.

In an exclusive for crash.net, Guanyu referred to the abuse Hamilton has gone through over the years and said that he shares a lot of similarities with the Mercedes driver in that regard.

He said about a similar experience at the start of the year as he paid tribute to Lewis Hamilton for his consistency.

"I feel like what Lewis experienced in some stages, I experienced at the beginning of the year before the first race. So I can feel how tough he went through it. He’s been through that while he was fighting for several F1 titles. For me, I know I’m not going to be fighting for the title, maybe to score points get the best out of my car. So big respect to him."

He added:

“Especially in F1, the hardest competition, to be winning seven years is crazy. Doesn’t matter if you have the best car, still winning is not easy. He congratulated me after Bahrain, and we sometimes stay in touch. Not knowing him for long, I think it’s the first time I’ve actually got to know him, this year.

About any advice he might have got from Hamilton, Guanyu replied in the negative, saying:

"Obviously advice he wouldn’t give me, because it’s a competition, but he’s been very much on my side, and he knows what I’ve been through, because it’s kind of similar.”

Guanyu talked about the racist comments he experienced before his F1 debut, which were similar to what Hamilton experienced two years earlier. In 2020, Lewis Hamilton had championed the cause of 'black lives matter', but the Mercedes driver had to cope with racist abuse. Guanyu said:

"I feel like I’ve experienced what he experienced maybe two years ago, when he was standing out and getting all the racist comments, especially last year. I was experiencing last year at the same time but kind of in a different area of our career, so these things are similar. At least this year I think both of us can be showing people what we deserve."

Zhou Guanyo claimed points on his F1 debut in Bahrain. With six points, he lies in 17th place in the driver standings.

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Lewis Hamilton is different from past F1 drivers - Guanyu Zhou

Lewis Hamilton is famous for his fashion sense that makes him stand out in the paddock.

Hamilton's ability to express himself has encouraged Zhou Guanyu to be comfortable in his own skin. The Alfa Romeo man also talked about how Hamilton is different from yesteryear drivers.

"It’s been great in the last few years watching Lewis showing a different style in the paddock. This year I’ve been trying to show the stuff I usually like to wear in the paddock. In the past, maybe 20 years ago, racing drivers were just about racing. We still have our enjoyable personal stuff to do and to be showing that on Thursdays, I think it’s great."

Hamilton (168) is out of the title race going into the Singapore GP this weekend.