Chinese driver Zhou has been impressive all season in F2 – which supports Formula 1 – making the most of the team’s reputation of being able to get the best out of inexperienced drivers.
In what he regards as a second home race having lived in the UK for some time, Renault Formula 1 junior Zhou delivered a lap of 1m38.182s in the closing stages, which means he’ll start at the front in the feature race at Silverstone on Saturday.
He is chasing his first victory in the championship, having scored three podiums which have elevated him to fifth in the championship. He is also the first Chinese driver to score an FIA F2 pole position.
Italian driver Ghiotto is in rejuvenated form after a strong performance last time out in Austria, and finished 0.228s behind his team-mate to make sure the yellow cars of UNI-Virtuosi will block out the front row in the race. Ghiotto had been fastest in the free practice session meaning the team has been top at every opportunity at the Northamptonshire track so far. The series also has a race on Sunday morning before the British Grand Prix.
Guan Yu Zhou:
It definitely felt good. It was a long time waiting. When we knew we had pole and the pressure released I was going on the radio, super happy with what we’ve done today. Everything went well and qualifying was something special. The team did a fantastic job this weekend so far and hopefully for tomorrow. For now I’ll just enjoy the moment for myself with pole. Now we have to go back and look at the data for tomorrow. It will be a long race tomorrow. Today is good having the four points but tomorrow is where everything counts.
Luca Ghiotto:
For sure he [Zhou] did an amazing lap, I was quite happy with mine and when I saw the time I was surprised. It would have been tough to beat Zhou today. P2 is still good and we go for good points tomorrow. I’m happy we’ve done a front row instead of starting P 10. I’m really happy for the team. They work so hard and I think this is their first front row lockout.
