The Spaniard's trademark tenacity soon rubbed off on the young Zhou.

"To chase my F1 dream, I went to Europe for higher levels of go-kart competitions when I was 12 years old," said Zhou. "It was a small school in the UK, and it was a tough time for me at first. I was the only Chinese kid in that school.

"At the very beginning, a Chinese face was not accepted by some and they would crash into me on purpose. All of that changed when I proved my worth by winning."

That sort of high-octane action has sadly been lacking from F1 in recent seasons, with several drivers, including world champion Lewis Hamilton, saying the races have become too processional.

"Don't point fingers at the drivers because we don't write the rules," Hamilton said after winning last month's French Grand Prix.

"We have nothing to do with the money and all that kind of stuff. You should put the pressure on the people at the head who should be doing their job.

"I think they are trying to, but for many, many years they have made bad decisions."

Zhou agrees with Hamilton's assessment and trusts the sport's governing body will find solutions to inject some excitement back into the sport.

"I wish there could be more intense battles between the racers," said Zhou. "Hopefully FIA will change some of the rules in 2021 to make the races more exciting."