Zhou Guanyu, one of the least talked about F1 drivers, is now making headlines. Being China’s 1st F1 driver, he has elevated his country’s status from just being an F1 host to providing F1 with a racing prodigy. And he is only 24 years old. Surprisingly, the man who is now the face of the Sauber F1 team was once forced to travel and settle in a city over 9000 kilometers away on a different continent. During those testing times, his mother was his strongest pillar of support who accompanied him to Sheffield, England.

Born in Shanghai, Guanyu began his karting career at age 8. While his birth city Shanghai provided a good platform to extract his inner racing talent, it wasn’t enough. For his F1 dream to come true, he had to leave his birthplace for somewhere that could hone his skills. Sheffield City in New Yorkshire it was. He joined Strawberry Racing, a domestic team that eventually won major championships in the junior circuit.

While his passion for racing was building, he had certain culture shocks. “It was a bit of a shock, coming from a huge city like Shanghai,” Guanyu told Motorsport. “Plus, Sheffield is all the way up north and there’s no summer, really. But still, my mechanics dressed in shorts. And this is a British thing, all the way up to F3, F2… whatever the weather, shorts and t-shirts.”

To add to this, he faced a major language barrier – English was an unknown territory. But because both his parents had shifted continents too, he managed to tackle all the challenges. While his father was busy slogging away in his business, it was his mother that took care of him.

The Sauber driver also emphasized the pivotal role that his mother played. “I moved with my mum,” he added. “I was so young – I couldn’t live by myself. She looked after everything. The support was important because for the first few months, going to school, I didn’t really know what everyone was talking about because of the language issue. So that was tough.”

Moving at the tender age of thirteen to a different country, absorbing and adapting to the cultural differences – he overcame it all. But the initial years after moving to Sheffield were the ones that hurt him the most.

Zhou Guanyu reveals how Sheffield broke his heart

Zhou Guanyu was a racer to be feared when he was in China. Exploiting his supreme talent, he won all possible championships that existed. Once he completed all the missions in that location, like a gamer in an open-world game, he went a step further. The UK was his next destination. Along with the culture shocks, he encountered the most humbling phase in his life.

“When I came to the UK, I’d won literally every championship in China,” the 24-year-old said. “As a kid, standing on the top step of the podium every weekend… then I came to the UK and I was finishing outside the top 10. These are heart-breaking moments for a kid, right?

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From multiple on-track heartbreaks to representing China globally at the pinnacle of motorsport – a champion’s journey has been written. His story will give more power to young Chinese racers who aspire to conquer the world of motorsport.