2024 has arrived, and the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, as the world's three major sporting events, is back again. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix. In addition, China's first F1 driver, Zhou Guanyu, will make his home debut and open a new page in the history of Chinese motorsport. In the previous "Cheng Pinji", we introduced a lot of topics about Zhou Guanyu. At this juncture of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, let's talk about a good thing about Zhou Guanyu in the Year of the Rabbit.
Introduction of Chengpin
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar, and Zhou Guanyu happens to be a rabbit and is 24 years old. Coincidentally, Zhou's driver number is 24, which was originally a tribute to NBA star Kobe Bryant. Zhou Guanyu chose No. 24 because he hoped that he could have the same outstanding performance as Kobe Bryant in the racing track.
For fans of F1 models, helmet models are a very niche and niche segment. As the commercialization of F1 progresses, drivers' helmets will not remain the same from season to season. In some special races, the helmet with special paint is very interesting. Here, I have to admire Zhou Guanyu's understanding of fashion and talent for design, and personally participated in the design of the helmet painting. In 2022, the pink milk tea helmet of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix is very distinctive, and it also lets everyone know that "Xiao Zhou loves to drink milk tea".
In the 2023 F1 Singapore Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu still participated in the design of the helmet painting, the main color of pale pink, plus the element of rabbit, to say that it is the cutest helmet design of the year, it should be deserved. After almost 3 months of waiting, I finally received this "Bunny Helmet" model.
This model is co-produced by Hurricane and Spark, and the model is 1:5 scale. Spark is a world-renowned model brand, and in the field of helmet models, the ratio of 1:5 is almost the only option, and the price is relatively friendly. On the outer packaging, the rabbit holding the firecracker is stepping on the waves, there are koi carp, there are lucky bags, it looks very festive, and even has some New Year's flavor.
After removing the paper package, it is an acrylic shell. The black plastic bottom case has four sides, and three sides are printed with Zhou Guanyu's name in pinyin, Chinese name and English for the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. The two rabbit ears are emblazoned with the Alfa Romeo logo, and in addition to the sponsors of various brands, there is also a carrot under the goggles, which is very cute.
Behind the helmet is a picture of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel cluster, Singapore's most iconic urban complex, with the Chinese characters for "Sands" and "Singapore", indicating its identity. The golden Zhou Guanyu personal logo is located at the top of the back, which is very conspicuous.
At the top of the helmet, Guanyu and 24 are also gold, and the blue and white porcelain pattern of the regular helmet of the season has been changed to red.
The side of the helmet, like the exterior packaging, is the picture of a rabbit treading the waves, which is connected with the cluster of Beachfront Bay Sands hotels behind it.
The only pity is that it is not that the helmet is not good-looking, but that Zhou Guanyu did not get points at the Singapore Grand Prix, which is less commemorative and talking point for Chinese fans.
Changes to the Zhou Guanyu team in 2024
In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Zhou Guanyu is part of the Alfa Romeo team (formerly Sauber team), a team sponsored by a car brand, commonly known as the "factory team". Alfa Romeo's classic brand logo, Italian red bodywork, and four-leaf clover elements, it is highly recognizable.
For the 2024 season, Alfa Romeo will no longer sponsor Sauber. As a result, the team has a new team name, Stake F1 Team, with an exclusive title contract of two years. Judging from the information that has been leaked so far, the main colors of the Stake F1 team will be black and green. As for whether the new car and suit look good or not, we won't comment on it.
In the past 2023 season, Zhou Guanyu finished 9th in Australia, Spain, and Qatar, with a total of 6 points. Although the Alfa Romeo team only finished 9th in the year, down 3 places from the 6th place in the previous year, Zhou Guanyu's annual points were the same as in his rookie season. In contrast, Zhou's teammate Bottas, as the team's No. 1 driver, is a bit of a "paddling".
It's not so much that team-mate Bottas's results have dropped, but that Alfa Romeo's car is too stretched, not only slow, but also often has problems. In the new season, whether the new cars have been fully upgraded is also one of the important points to watch in the new season. For the Stake F1 team, apart from the problems of the car itself, the withdrawal of sponsors is the "real thing".
Formula 1 racing is very expensive for teams. Today's global economic environment is not optimistic, and the exit of an established brand like Alfa Romeo is ultimately a matter of funding. As the world's top racing event, F1 is one of the best platforms to promote automobile brands. Brands that have benefited from this for many years include Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, etc., and even Aston Martin, which performed well last year.
Although Alfa Romeo Racing has the popularity of "home team" in China, it still does not hide the performance of its "geocentric group", which is really limited to enhance the competitiveness of the brand. In addition, in the Chinese market, Alfa Romeo's brand sales are still the favorite of niche people. The domestic automobile market is facing great changes that have not been encountered in a century, and the pattern of traditional luxury car brands is "turning upside down", and Alfa Romeo needs to continue to work hard in the future market competition if the transformation is too slow and the product update is too slow.
Finally pulled
At present, the countdown to the start of the 2024 Shanghai F1 Grand Prix has begun, and I see that many fans and friends in the group have booked tickets and are ready to go to watch the race. This is a good thing, motorsports can be recognized by more and more people, and it also has a positive role in promoting the development of automobile events in China.
It is worth mentioning that the sub-sponsor of this year's Shanghai F1 Grand Prix is Lenovo. The laptop I use every day has always been the Lenovo Thinkpad, and the desktop console I bought last year is also a Lenovo savior. Regardless of whether or not you can go to Shanghai to live the F1 Grand Prix, you can be regarded as making a contribution. Finally, I wish Zhou Guanyu to break through himself and make history in the new season.