As expected Alfa Romeo has renewed the contract for Guanyu Zhou who became the first Chinese driver in F1 earlier this year. After a string of impressive performances, Zhou’s contract was renewed last month but the announcement was made only today as F1 returns to Asia for the Singapore and Japanese GPs.
Zhou has been so impressive that he managed P10 on his debut in Bahrain and followed up with eighth in Canada and was again P10 in the last race at Monza. He is currently P17 in the world championship and has made very few mistakes in his rookie season.
Zhou also comes with significant sponsor backing from brands in China which makes him even more attractive to Alfa Romeo. The Alfa Romeo partnership is slated to end next year for the Hinwil-based Sauber team, but many believe Audi will take a majority stake in the team next year.
The team has been impressed with the work Zhou has done behind the scenes with the simulator.
"I am looking forward to continuing working with Zhou. From day one with the team, at the Abu Dhabi test last year, he has impressed me with his approach to work and this is always a very positive trait,” said Fred Vasseur the CEO of the Alfa Romeo Sauber team.
"Making it to F1 was a dream come true and the feeling of competing for the first time in a race will live with me forever," said Zhou. "The team has been incredibly supportive, welcoming me from day one and helping me adapt to the most complex series in motorsport. There is more that I want to achieve in this sport and with the team, and the hard work we have put together since the start of the year is just the first step towards where we want to be next season,” said Zhou at the renewal.
