Zhou Guanyu, who made his Formula 1 debut this year, has a second season at Alfa Romeo. The new contract was announced by Sauber Group, the operating company behind the team.
The 23-year-old joined F1 this year after a previous stint with Alpine and started his first season in the world championship with a first-ever points finish in Bahrain. He has since scored two more goals and is 17th in the league table.
The Chinese driver, who competed in F1 for the first time, emerged unscathed from a major opening mask crash at the British Grand Prix in July. In the year In addition to his pace until 2022, Sauber has been impressed by the way it has bounced back from that disaster.
“Making it to F1 was a dream come true and the feeling of racing for the first time will stay with me forever,” Zhou said. “The team has been incredibly supportive, welcoming me from day one and helping me adapt to one of the most complex series in motorsport.
“There are many things I want to achieve in this sport and with the team and the strong work we have done since the beginning of the year is the first step towards what we need next season. We still have a lot to learn but I am confident in our work. I look forward to the next chapter of our story together.”
Leading up to F1, Zhou competed in Formula 4, Formula 3 and spent three years in Formula 2, with four wins and a third place finish last year. Also At the start of 2021, he competed in the Formula Asia Regional Championship and won the championship, guaranteeing that he would have enough points for the top license required to compete in F1.
Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur said he was satisfied with the way Zhou had adapted to F1.
“From the first day with the team, at the Abu Dhabi test last year, I was impressed with his approach to work and that is always a very positive trait. We knew he was fast, but the way he adapted to F1 in such a short time was one of the best surprises of our season.
“He’s a great guy, everyone in the team likes his character and attitude. He had the humility to ask questions and learn from both the engineers and Valtteri. [Bottas], and the intelligence to apply all the information obtained to improve race after race. He will be able to build on this experience next season, and I’m sure he will take another step forward as we continue to grow our squad.
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