RELATED INFORMATION

Maiden podium ‘not far away’ says Zhu ahead of Nűrburgring

Rising star dreams of becoming first Chinese F1 driver

David Zhu believes the forthcoming rounds at the Nűrburgring could well yield his maiden Formula Two podium, after enjoying an impressive start to his debut season.

The 21-year-old became the first Chinese driver to have raced in any era of the series this year and has been quick to make his mark, scoring a points finish during the opening rounds at Silverstone and both times qualifying in the top 10.

He continued his strong pace during the last rounds at Portimáo to finish fifth in the opening round, having run fourth for much of the race and soaking up sustained pressure from Markus Pommer.

Now the former Formula Pilota China driver is hoping to go even better at the next F2 rounds at the Nűrburgring, which take place on 25-27 May. Speaking to Formulatwo.com, Zhu said: "This is my first year in European racing where everything is new and I've had to adapt in a very short amount of time. I've had a good start though in the first two race meetings and I think I will get better in the upcoming races. The Nűrburgring is a very technical track and I think a lot of the European drivers are good at this circuit, but I still believe my first podium is not far away."

He added: "I really enjoy driving in the F2 series and the standard of drivers is very high and competitive, plus the car is much more powerful. The Portugal rounds were very good for me, even though it was my first time there. I like the track a lot and adapted to it very quickly. Round one was perfect, I started from eighth and moved to fourth but I struggled a bit with tyre temperatures in the first two laps so I was suffering with understeer and oversteer. On lap 16 I was battling with Pommer which made my tyres worse and I lost the position."

This season Zhu is also acting as ambassador to F2 in his native China, a role he is very much enjoying: "Motorsport is getting bigger and bigger in China and it's good to see more European and Chinese media reporting on the series. I'm proud to be the ambassador of China. My dream is to be in F1 and I think I have the ability to be the first Chinese F1 driver. At the moment though, my goal is to win a race in F2!"

The next rounds of the F2 series take place at the Nűrburgring on 25-27 May with full coverage and live streaming of both races on www.formulatwo.com.