Alpine junior Guanyue Zhou has now jumped ship for Alfa Romeo and will become the first Chinese driver in F1 in 2022
It was always on the cards but alpine junior Guanyue Zhou has now jumped ship for Alfa Romeo and will become the first Chinese driver in F1 in 2022. While this happened, Alpine announced Oscar Piastri, the F2 world champion, as their reserve driver for 2022. Zhou will join Valtteri Bottas who will join Alfa Romeo after a 5-year stint at Mercedes. That means Ferrari-backed Antonio Giovinazzi is now without a drive for the 2022 season.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Guanyue Zhou to Alfa Romeo Racing. He is a very talented driver, as his results in F2 have shown, and we look forward to helping his talents flourish even more in Formula 1. We look forward to it,” said Fred Vasseur, Alfa Romeo Sauber team boss and CEO.
“We are proud of our line-up for 2022 and are confident that Zhou will form a very successful partnership with Valtteri. We also look forward to welcoming all the new Chinese fans who will join the team: Alfa Romeo Racing is a historic brand. And one that embodies the spirit of Formula 1 and we will do our best to make our sporting experience in China great.”
Alpine-backed driver will join Alfa Romeo team
“I dreamed from a young age of climbing as much as I could in a sport that I am passionate about and now the dream has come true. It is my privilege to start my Formula 1 career with a team that is a prestigious, prestigious team. So many young talents have been introduced into Formula 1 in the past. Now the dream is a reality,” Guanyue Zhou said.
“Becoming a Chinese driver for the first time in Formula 1 is a success for Chinese motorsport history. I know a lot of expectations will be placed on me and, as always, I will take this as inspiration to become better and achieve more. ” she added.
This is a huge deal for F1 which counts China as a key market. F1 recently renewed the deal for the Chinese GP which unfortunately hasn’t happened since 2019 due to the pandemic.
“Guyyu Zhou will be in F1 next season, it’s great for the sport and the millions of ardent Chinese fans who now have a domestic hero to cheer for all year round. The pyramid in F2 is working and for the top flight of motorsport Fostering talent. Zhou is an incredible talent, who will be a great addition to the amazing grid we have, and he will entertain and excite all of our Chinese fans in 2022,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
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Zhou also comes with a lot of Chinese support which will be crucial for Alfa Romeo as it attempts to advance on the grid in a new era of budget caps. It has now experienced a multiple race winner in Bottas who has been part of one of the greatest F1 teams of all time and a talented rookie that comes with enormous financial backing.
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