Alfa Romeo rookie Guanyu Zhou admits his massive save behind Yuki Tsunoda on the run down to Monaco's chicane left him scared and in need of a clean pair of underpants!
Zhou started his maiden Monaco Grand Prix from last on the grid, but a spirited opening drive pushed the Chinese driver as high as P13.
However, pitstops had dropped him to 16th when the race was red flagged due to Mick Schumacher's crash. When the race resumed, Zhou found himself battling Tsunoda for position and frantically snapping at the AlphaTauri driver's heels.
- Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2022 Monaco GP
As the pair ran nose to tail through the tunnel, Zhou attempted to move left to as they barreled down towards the Nouvelle Chicane to execute an overtake on the inside of Tsunoda, but the Alfa went into a massive slide that its driver was fortunate to catch.
"I need new pants after that one!" a startled Zhou told his team over the radio.
"It was very damp on the inside, and there's not much slipstream you can gain," he explained. "That was probably one of the closest laps behind Yuki, so I really had to dive up the inside at the last minute.
"Unfortunately he tried to cover a little bit, and at that moment, I tried to avoid that and hit the wet patch. That was just about keeping the car on-track there."
New pants needed! 🩳😅
pic.twitter.com/cqRQPYClKA— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) May 30, 2022
As he collected himself running straight across the chicane, Zhou lost a position to Williams' Nicholas Latifi.
"It wasn't too cool in the cockpit, it was pretty scary, a sketchy moment," he admitted. "But it will be nice to have a look at the replay."
Zhou admitted that his maiden race at Monaco at the wheel of an F1 car was a "tough" experience.
"It was a tough one, I think one of the toughest, but we experienced all different conditions," he said.
"I guess normal race tracks in the wet will be a little bit better now after experiencing Monaco."
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