Yesterday afternoon, Alpha middot; Romeo team officially announced the renewal of the contract with Jiushi Sports driver Zhou Guanyu , saying that the two sides will continue to work together in the 2023 season. Considering that the Alpha middot; Romeo brand will withdraw from F1 after the end of next season and end the title sponsorship cooperation with the team, the one-year contract that Zhou Guanyu has obtained can now be said to be the ideal answer under the existing conditions.
Like Alpha middot; Romeo team leader Vassel revealed earlier that they determined the driver lineup for next season at the end of September. Zhou Guanyu, who has just renewed his contract for one year, and Botas, who has many years of contract, will continue to represent Alpha middot and Romeo in F1 in the 2023 season.
"I have many goals to achieve with the team. The efforts we have made since the beginning of the year are just the first step towards next season and future goals. There are still many things to learn and many things to improve, but I am full of confidence in our work and look forward to writing a new chapter with the team." At the moment of successful renewal, Zhou Guanyu is full of confidence and looks forward to the future.
compared to the first official announcement in November last year, this time, Alpha middot; Romeo team made more preheating and hints on Chinese social platforms, so many domestic car fans left messages, hoping that Zhou Guanyu could get a multi-year contract. However, under the current real conditions, the new year contract is actually the ideal answer that the team can give.
In late August, Alpha middot; Romeo announced that it will withdraw from F1 after the end of the 2023 season and end the title sponsorship cooperation with the team (the original Sauber team ). Then almost at the same time, the Audi brand officially issued a statement saying that it will enter F1 as an engine manufacturer in 2026. Audi is not only a car brand for the global market, it has also performed outstandingly in the racing competitions except F1. So many people speculate that Audi will start to integrate into the plan earlier before becoming the F1 engine manufacturer, and becoming the main sponsor of a certain team is a very reasonable guess.
If the team title sponsor has not been finalized in the 2024 season, isn’t the new year contract the ideal answer for Zhou Guanyu?
In the current drivers' standings this season, Zhou Guanyu has 6 points, ranking 17th, and Botas has 46 points, ranking 10th. Although his performance is still far behind his teammates, as a "F1 first-year student", Zhou Guanyu's performance is still remarkable. For example, he scored a breakthrough in his first F1 main match (10th place in the branch, 1 point) and improved his personal best branch to eighth place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
As for Zhou Guanyu, he also clearly felt his progress in the past six months. "If we go back to the beginning of this season, especially the Bahrain station where I finished 10th (season opening station), according to current experience, if Botas can finish sixth, then I might finish sixth or seventh." "In the past few games, I feel that I have made some progress in the initial stage, and I am quite happy for this." Zhou Guanyu said in an interview a few days ago.
Shanghai, China on the temporary calendar, is Zhou Guanyu's most desirable place
Complete a race on the track of the motherland as an official driver of F1 on the motherland and in front of domestic car fans. This is Zhou Guanyu's always wish. So, does he have the chance to get what he wants in the 2023 season?
Last week, F1 officially released the 2023 season calendar (non-final version), and the number of Grand Prix sub-stations reached an unprecedented 24. Among them, in addition to the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, it must be said that the return of the Chinese Grand Prix is.
Of course, due to the impact of the epidemic, the F1 China Grand Prix, currently scheduled to be held from April 14 to April 16, 2023, is actually still in a tentative state. In the non-final version of the F1 officially released from 2020 to 2022, the Chinese Grand Prix actually had a seat, but it was ultimately not held due to actual conditions.
"Obviously, entering F1 is my dream. After watching other drivers compete in their hometown, I think when it's my turn to compete at home, it will definitely be a crazy and extraordinary race weekend." "I have reason to believe that next year there will be (F1 Chinese Grand Prix), but (in the end) it will have to be decided by the F1 official. If the competition (F1 Chinese Grand Prix) can be held, it will definitely be a special weekend that will remember me for my life." Zhou Guanyu shared this way in an interview a few days ago.
, born in Shanghai, Zhou Guanyu started to come into contact with kart when he was 7 years old. From 2008 to 2011, he won the annual championships of the Youth Kart Championships in Shanghai and the National. In 2012, his dream-seeking stage moved from China to abroad that had more ways to upgrade Formula racing.
During the 2019 F1 China Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu, who was 17 years old and was also an F2 driver, not only returned to his hometown Shanghai to observe and study, but also participated in the exhibition competition held in the streets around Taiping Lake in Xintiandi, becoming the first Chinese driver to drive an F1 car on the streets of Shanghai. "When I was there (Shanghai) in 2019, the audience was amazing. I was an F2 driver at that time. So, it should be crazy now." The
F1 China Grand Prix was founded in 2004 and is the first "three major sports events in the world" held in China. From 2004 to 2019, the Grand Prix was held at the Shanghai International Racing Park for 16 consecutive sessions.
