Chinese racer Guanyu Zhou will become the first driver from his country to race in F1 next season after being signed by Alfa Romeo Racing. The 22-year-old will replace Antonio Giovinazzi in the team for the 2022 F1 season and race alongside Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.
Zhou currently competes in the F2 Championship, which is a feeder series for F1, while also winning the Drivers’ Championship in the F3 Asian Championship.
Alfa Romeo Racing team principal Frederic Vasseur believes the Chinese youngster is a talented driver and is excited to see him team up with the experienced Bottas.
“He is a very talented driver, as his results in F2 have shown, and we are looking forward to helping his talent flourish even more in Formula 1. We are proud of our line-up for 2022 and we are confident Zhou will form a very successful partnership with Valtteri,” Vasseur said.
Vasseur also welcomed the Chinese fans to support the team and build the Alfa Romeo brand in the Asian country.
“We are also looking forward to welcoming all the new Chinese fans who will join the team: Alfa Romeo Racing is a historical brand and one that embodies the spirit of Formula 1 and we will do our utmost to make the experience of our sport a great one in China,” said the Alfa Romeo team principal.
Gyanu Zhou was ecstatic at achieving his dream of joining F1 and also understands the hope that rests on his shoulders as the first Chinese F1 driver. The 22-year-old is currently in his third season in the F2 Championship and is second in the Drivers’ Championship, behind Oscar Piastri.
The Chinese racer has won three races in the F2 Championship this season and is 36 points behind the leader in the Championship.
Zhou replaces the experienced Antonio Giovinazzi who has been with the team for the last three seasons alongside veteran Kimi Raikkonen. Alfa Romeo Racing will have a new-look driver line-up next season with Zhou and Bottas at the helm.
The signing of Zhou confirms the 20 drivers for next season’s F1 season, with all 10 teams announcing their driver line-up.
The Chinese driver will be the only debutant to F1 next season, which also sees the return of Alex Albon, who will race for Williams F1. The former Red Bull Racing driver replaces George Russell, who will move to Mercedes to replace the outgoing Bottas.
The 2022 F1 season will kick off at the Bahrain Grand Prix in March.
