Zhou reacts to fastest race lap: 'We are moving in the right direction'

While Max Verstappen took his first win of 2023 and euphoria rose as Fernando Alonso captured his first podium finish in a year and a half, another story was relegated a little to the shadows: Guanyu Zhou achieved the fastest race lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix. On the last lap, Zhou managed to better Pierre Gasly's time.

In terms of points, Zhou did not gain much. Because the Alfa Romeo driver finished 16th, he did not get the extra point for the fastest race lap; that point is only given to drivers who finish in the top ten. But with Alfa Romeo, it was not about Zhou winning the point, it was mainly about Gasly not getting the point. Indeed, Alfa Romeo has labelled Alpine as its main competitor, and taking the point away from Gasly leaves the Swiss team with a slight lead over the French competition.

'We are moving in the right direction'

There was little euphoria for Zhou after the race, but the Chinese driver does draw positive conclusions from the performance. Indeed, teammate Valtteri Bottas did manage to score points with his eighth place. "Of course it is good to see Valtteri score points for the team in the first race of the season, it is a good starting point for all of us and I am happy that I contributed by setting the fastest lap in the last few laps. The car felt better than in qualifying, which shows we are going in the right direction. We need to keep finding these margins to keep improving for the next races and I know everyone on the track and in Switzerland is working to achieve this."