SPORTS
Alfa Romeo announce Guanyu Zhou as Valtteri Bottas's team mate for 2022
Baku, November 16, AZERTAC
Guanyu Zhou will become China's first full-time F1 driver when he makes his debut with Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas in 2022, according to the official website of Formula 1.
The 22-year-old, who is in contention for this season's F2 title, has had extensive testing in older F1 machinery through his role as test driver for Alpine.
He has been linked with a move to F1 with Alfa Romeo for several months and was given the nod ahead of incumbent Antonio Giovinazzi, who the team announced was leaving earlier on Tuesday.
His arrival continues the Hinwil-based team’s strategy of dovetailing experience with youth, as F1 rookie Zhou joins Bottas who arrives from Mercedes with 10 Grand Prix victories under his belt.
It comes after he became only the second driver from mainland China to have turned a wheel in a practice session during a Grand Prix weekend earlier this year when he drove his hero Fernando Alonso’s Alpine in Austria.