Zack Zhu: “My idol is Lewis Hamilton. Just like me, his father was his first mechanic”
Zack Zhu was born in Melun, France, the son of Chinese parents. He races under the French flag but carries the other half of the story with him. On track, no one asks him to explain who he is. He has already worked that out for himself:
“The two parts of my identity don’t conflict — I’m a blend of both backgrounds.”
At fourteen, Zack races in the OKJ category with VictoryLane (VL Karting), the team co-founded by Victor Martins — 2022 FIA Formula 3 Champion, Williams Formula 1 Test Driver and Alpine WEC driver in 2026. His season includes the FIA Karting European Championship, Champions of the Future, the WSK Super Master Series and, in November, the FIA Karting World Championship in Bahrain. It is a professional calendar, lived by a boy who goes to school in the morning and trains in the afternoon. He is a boy who doesn’t waste words.
Copyright – Zack Zhu
The engine roar, the mechanic father, and Lewis Hamilton
On 17 April 2019, at ASK Rosny 93 — the karting club where Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon is also registered — a seven-year-old boy climbed into a kart for the first time.
“The roar of the engine hit me hard. I felt nervous but thrilled, and instantly fell in love with driving.”
It is a date Zack remembers.
From that day, motorsport became a collective project. His father handled the mechanics, his mother the logistics, the son focused on racing. There were exhausting and disappointing moments, as Zack admits without hesitation, but the passion never wavered. Then, after the end of 2025, his father deliberately stepped back, leaving the boy to take charge of a growing share of the work.
“This helped me mature a great deal.”
His idol is Lewis Hamilton. The reason is not that of a fan counting titles:
“Just like me, his father worked as a mechanic and supported his races when he was young. I want to become a Formula 1 driver just like him.”
Not the champion Hamilton became — the journey that got him there.
Between two worlds: synthesis as a competitive advantage
Growing up in France with Chinese roots, in a family that brought an entire culture with it, could be experienced as something complicated to manage. Zack chooses to see it as a resource:
“Having a dual cultural background brings only strengths. It lets me adapt easily to environments across different countries and interact with others calmly, with no drawbacks whatsoever.”
That synthesis found a concrete form in 2024, in Zhuzhou, where Zack raced for the first time in the China Karting Championship. A new track, different competitors, unfamiliar territory for a driver who had built his entire formation on French and Italian circuits.
“I felt a little unfamiliar at first, yet deeply warm inside. I learned a great deal.”
It was not only the competition that struck him: it was the feeling of racing, for the first time, somewhere that was also his.
His Chinese family upbringing left precise marks on his approach to racing, beyond what the results alone can show.
“Chinese family upbringing taught me patience, resilience and respect for rivals and teams. This composed mindset fits perfectly with high-pressure race environments.”
As for the flag he will carry when the time comes for single-seaters — and further ahead, perhaps, at the highest levels — the answer is both practical and heartfelt:
“My racing base is established in France, so I will continue competing with a French racing licence. I will always be proud to represent my Chinese heritage.”
The method: how a comeback is built
Copyright – Zack Zhu
2025 marked his debut in the Junior category, a significant technical step up from Mini. Higher speeds, a different braking rhythm, a more physical and faster race group.
“Moving up to the junior category, adjusting to higher speeds and braking rhythm was the biggest challenge.”
The solution was not to rely on instinct:
“I quickly adapted through strength training and repeated data comparison analysis.”
Data, not feelings. It is a detail that says a lot about how Zack approaches problems.
The driving style that emerged is already recognisable to those who have followed his season:
“My driving style is agile with strong overtaking skills. My key strengths are solid pressure resistance, smart tyre management, and consistent pace in the latter half of races.”
It is this last characteristic — a pace that grows rather than drops — that makes his comebacks a structural pattern, not an episode of luck.
When he finds himself at the back, the process is deliberate:
“I first analyse the leading driver’s weaknesses. I patiently wait for the right gap. I execute clean overtakes only when it’s safe — I never force my way through recklessly.”
The same logic applies to managing setbacks: contacts, lost results, finals compromised by circumstances outside his control.
“Collisions costing me race results leave me upset briefly, but once I review footage and confirm it was not my fault, I refocus fully on the next event.”
The cycle closes within hours. Move on.
VictoryLane, Victor Martins, and the first European Championship
VictoryLane is not just a karting team. It is a 360° agency working simultaneously on performance, management and communication. For Zack, this translates into something concrete:
“Team VL offers all-round support including races, management and promotion. Free from trivial distractions, I can fully focus on practice and improvement.”
The name that runs through the story of the project is Victor Martins. Co-founder of the team, 2022 FIA Formula 3 Champion, former Alpine Academy member: in 2026 he is Williams Formula 1 Test Driver and Alpine WEC Hypercar driver. For Zack he is an operational reference point:
“Team founder Martins climbed every rung of the junior racing ladder himself. His rigorous standards constantly motivate me to progress steadily through higher categories.”
Not many fourteen-year-old karting drivers have the co-founder of their own team as proof that the path actually works.
In April 2026, at La Conca, Zack competed in his first round of the FIA Karting European Championship. His first appearance at the most prestigious karting competition in Europe, against the best in the category.
“Competing in the European Championship for the first time filled me with pride and nerves. My result at the opening round was not ideal, but every lap built invaluable top-tier race experience.”
It is not resignation — it is that Zack keeps separate accounts: the result on one side, what he learned on the other.
Life at fourteen: school, heat resistance, and no superstitions
Copyright – Zack Zhu
Racing across France, Italy, Spain and China at fourteen demands a level of logistics that most peers cannot even imagine. The championship calendar overlaps with the school timetable with no regard for holidays or exam periods. The solution Zack has found is simple in form, less simple in practice:
“I attend regular school classes during the day and do fitness training afterwards. During race weeks, I complete schoolwork online to balance academics and my race schedule.”
Preparing for the FIA World Championship in Bahrain in November has added a specific variable that European races do not bring: the heat.
“I am completing targeted heat-resistance training to prepare, ready to compete fiercely against the world’s elite drivers in my category.”
Off the track, handball and swimming round out the athletic picture.
“Handball improves my teamwork and communication skills, while swimming boosts endurance. Team sports also ease the mental strain of solo racing.”
The combination is deliberate: Zack looks to team sports for what karting — by definition an individual discipline — cannot give him.
As for pre-race rituals: a full-body stretch, set-up checks with the mechanics. No music. No superstitions.
“I do not follow any superstitious rituals.”
In a paddock where almost every driver has their playlist and established habits, it is an answer that says something precise about his character.
The future, the flag, and a message to young Chinese drivers
His 2026 targets are stated with the same precision he uses to choose the right moment to overtake:
“Secure a top-20 qualifying position in the European Championship and reach the podium in at least one final round.”
It is not vague ambition. It is a work plan with concrete benchmarks.
In November there is Bahrain. There is a detail of the 2026 calendar worth mentioning: that same weekend, at the motor racing circuit adjacent to the karting track, Victor Martins will be racing in the WEC with Alpine. The co-founder of VictoryLane and the team’s youngest driver will be in the same place, at the same moment — in categories worlds apart, on the same road. To young Chinese drivers who dream of following his path — racing in Europe, building a career in motorsport from scratch — Zack sends a message that reflects exactly who he is:
“Stick to consistent training, prioritise physical fitness, build skills step by step, and hold fast to your passion — it is what gets you through setbacks.”
On his Instagram profile it reads: “Born to race, race for life.” We ask him what it means.
“Motorsport is my top priority right now. All my daily routines and training are geared toward long-term growth as a professional driver.”
