Image source,Getty Images
Zhou Guanyu had three victories in F2 this season and ranked second before the final round of the championship.
Chinese racing driver Zhou Guanyu officially joined the Alfa Romeo team (Alfa Romeo) and will participate in the Formula 1 Championship as a full racer in the 2022 season, becoming China’s first official F1 driver.
The former top driver of Formula 2 will replace Kimi Raikkonen (Kimi Raikkonen), who has decided to retire this year, and will join Vertli Bottas, who switched from Mercedes to the new season. (Valtteri Bottas, Bottas) partner.
The only Chinese who drove a Formula One car before was Ma Qinghua. He participated in five F1 tests in 2012 and 2013, but did not participate in F1 events as an official driver.
The Alfa Romeo team described the 22-year-old Zhou Guanyu as “a pioneer who will write an important page in his national racing history.”
Regarding becoming a F1 driver, he said: “I have dreamed of climbing to the highest possible level in a sport that I love since I was a child, and now my dream has come true.”
“I feel I am ready to take on the huge challenge of Formula One with the certified world-class driver Wiltelli Bottas. This is the pinnacle of my sport.”
“For me, it is a great honor to join the Alfa Romeo team and start my F1 career.”
Zhou Guanyu is currently ranked second in the F2 Championship this season with three victories, and there will still be two rounds next month.
Image source,Getty Images
The joining of Zhou Guanyu will bring a huge market value of millions of pounds to the Alfa Romeo team.
Who is Zhou Guanyu?
Zhou Guanyu, born in Shanghai in 1999, started driving karting when he was 8 years old, and then grew up in the field of motorsports.
Chinese official media reported that he showed his racing talent since he was a child and was fascinated by the sport when F1 cars first entered China in 2004.
At the age of 10, he won all 8 races of the National Karting Championship. From 2014 to 2018, Zhou Guanyu was a member of the Ferrari Drivers Academy, competing in F4, F3 and F2 Formula events.
So far, he has played in the European F3 season for three seasons and is currently in the third season of his F2 career.
In the 2020 F2 Championship, he has been on the podium six times, and then won his first F2 Championship in the F2 Championship in Bahrain in March 2021.
He joined the Renault team (Renault, now Alpine) in 2019.
From next year, he will no longer have contact with the Alpine team.
At the end of this season, he will participate in the F1 rookie test in Abu Dhabi.
“As the first official F1 driver in China, I am very excited and proud,” said Zhou Guanyu.
“This is a breakthrough for Chinese racing. I know that many people have high hopes for me. I will continue to use this as a motivation to work harder to make myself better and strive for more results.”
Huge market added value
This month, official news announced that after three years of suspension due to the global pandemic of the new crown epidemic, the F1 Chinese Grand Prix will return to the race schedule in 2023. This motorsport will continue its ambition to continue to expand in the Chinese market.
The joining of Zhou Guanyu will bring a huge market value of millions of pounds to the Alfa Romeo team.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC Sports Department, team leader Frederic Vasseur admitted that financial and market value were a factor in inviting Zhou Guanyu to join.
“Financial factors cannot be hidden,” he said.
Image source,David Davies/PA Wire
But he said that Zhou Guanyu’s talent is also a key point.
He pointed out that Zhou Guanyu’s victory in the F2 Championship and Silverstone in Bahrain is proof that he is “capable” to compete in the highest level of competition.
“I don’t know if he will become the F2 champion in the end,” Wasser said, “but this will not change his potential to lead among other very experienced players.”
“Another advantage of him is that he has also conducted some tests in F1 this season, so he is not starting from scratch.”
Wasser added: “For China, if this person does not perform, it does not make sense to sign him in. What they want is success.”
He said that Zhou Guanyu’s additional revenue to the Alfa Romeo team means that the team’s operating costs for the next season will be closer to the F1 team’s prescribed upper limit. He said that this year’s budget for the team is 145 million from the F1 team’s set limit. The US dollar (114 million pounds) is still far away.
He said that in the current world of Formula One, teams outside of top teams such as Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari or Renault will have very little exposure, and this kind of market operation may be the best way for their teams to increase their exposure.
“The first Chinese driver in F1-this is great news for us, for the company, for sponsors, and for F1 in general.”