Just like Alexander Albon, Guanyu Zhou enjoys designing his own helmets. Now that there are no restrictions on the number of designs per year, he relishes this freedom. For his home race in Shanghai this year, where he was the first-ever Chinese F1 driver on the grid, he naturally designed a special helmet. It’s a perfect way to ignite his creativity.
Where do these creative outbursts come from? The answer is quite straightforward, claims Zhou. “My mother used to be a fashion designer. My love for drawing and designing has grown and evolved over the years. Even as a child, I loved drawing and being creative.”
Pencils are his best friend for all inspirations. He claims to detest uniformity. “I don’t want to imitate anyone, but be myself: create instead of copy.” Yet, he closely follows all artistic trends. “What do people like, what don’t they like? Of course, you pay attention to that. But despite this, I want to make my own things, realize my own ideas.”
Zhou’s Creative Helmet Designs
Guanyu Zhou cites the porcelain helmet he designed at the end of 2022 for the GP Abu Dhabi as an example. This has now become a recurring element in his helmet designs. “You see this a lot more now, especially with Chinese drivers. I enjoy that, I think it’s great. My helmet is the place for me to express myself creatively. You know, I could also ask someone: come up with some ideas and design my helmet for this or that race. But I don’t want that. I try to put elements on the helmet in my designs that I like, or that have a special meaning to me.”
Albon’s Reputation
He is not the only driver who spends a lot of time designing special helmets. Alexander Albon has also built a reputation in this regard, as has Valtteri Bottas. However, Zhou’s Finnish teammate leaves the designing to his Australian girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell. “We don’t talk about it much,” says the Chinese driver. “Usually, we just show what we’ve made. Like: okay, this is my special helmet. What do you think?”
“Everyone,” Zhou continues, “always has their own ideas and tastes. But also their own way of designing a helmet. I think especially the younger generation likes to see special helmets and appreciates them. I think the fans think it’s cool. With so many races, a little change now and then is fun, isn’t it? Wearing the same helmet all year is a bit boring, you get a bit bored by it. I sometimes want something different, just to break out.”
The full interview with Guanyu Zhou, about much more than just F1, can be found in the latest edition of FORMULE 1 Magazine: now in stores and also available online (with free delivery in the Netherlands)
