Zhou back in the Renault R.S.17 in Jerez

Guanyu Zhou got his hands back on Formula 1 machinery this week, as he enjoyed another opportunity to test the 2017-spec Renault F1 R.S.17.

Out in Jerez, Zhou drove in the wet for the first time in an F1 car, putting in plenty of laps for Renault. Overall, it was the UNI-Virtuosi ace’s fifth time testing a Formula 1 car.

“It was a pretty good day of testing,” Zhou explained. “The morning started in damp conditions, but we managed to go out on slick tyres and the lap times were there, which was pretty good.

“After that run it started pouring down, so we went out on wet tyres and that was my first ever time driving a Formula 1 car in the rain. The afternoon was dry with the track still damp, so we went out on both slick and wet tyres.”

Zhou is currently making the most of a near two-month break in the Formula 2 season, keeping himself sharp for his return to racing at the end of November, when he heads out to Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, for the season finale.

Zhou famously took part in a demo for the F1 team at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix in April, at his home circuit in Shanghai. However, the adverse weather conditions will have provided him with a whole new challenge out in Spain, one that should help him as he continues his Road to F1.

“In general I’m happy with how much mileage we achieved,” he concluded. “Especially since the weather changed so much during the day. It wasn’t an easy day, but I learned a lot and it was pretty fun driving in these conditions.”