Guanyu Zhou has confirmed that he has chosen number 24 as his permanent Formula 1 number as a tribute to Kobe Bryant.
F1 drivers are required to pick a number at the start of their F1 careers, which they use throughout their stint in the sport.
Bryant, who is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, spent 20 years in the NBA, winning five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He wore number 24 on his jersey for the final 10 years at the Lakers, having spent the first half of his career with the number eight.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in January of 2020 in a helicopter accident.
Zhou says that he is also drawn to the colour purple, which he uses on his helmets, due to Bryant’s stretch at the Lakers.
“24 is basically because of Kobe Bryant,” Zhou said. “He’s a huge inspiration for me when I was a kid, before I was into motorsport I was looking at the basketball, he was there with the Lakers.
“I’m a huge fan of his, I’ve listened to his stories, how hard he was working even though he was one of the best out there.
“He was saying about how he’d wake up at 4 AM to be going training and then taking his daughters to school and then back to training.
“It’s quite impressive when you are at this level in your sport and you’re still working harder than everyone else.
“He’s a huge inspiration, so that’s the first reason behind it. That’s also the reason I’m very much into purple and a bit yellow, because of him. It is [also] quite a lucky number adding up together, six is quite lucky for Chinese people as well.”
Zhou has signed to race with Alfa Romeo next year, alongside Valtteri Bottas, and is set to be the sole rookie on the grid in 2022.
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