Leaving Alpine was a “very good decision” for Zhou
The Chinese driver asserts that his choice to leave Alpine for Alfa Romeo was the right one. He believes that if he had stayed with the French team, he would have ended up stuck.
At 23 years old, Guanyu Zhou made history in Formula 1. At the beginning of the season, he became the first Chinese driver to participate in a Grand Prix. He was able to join the discipline thanks to Alfa Romeo, who opened its doors to him following Kimi Räikkönen’s retirement.
If he is where he is today, it is due to a heavy decision he had to make: leaving the Alpine fold. He was part of it, just like Oscar Piastri with whom he was battling for the Formula 2 title.
If one managed to find a seat in Formula 1, it is not the case for the Australian who is still serving as a reserve driver. The Chinese driver believes he has the opportunity to compete in the premier category following his decision to leave the French team’s fold.
(I) I was completely relieved. Everything went very well, because my contract ended at the end of last year and it was up to the both of us to decide if we wanted to continue, but there was an opportunity with Alfa (F), he said before the Piastri case, to our colleagues at Racer.
Towards a renewal in 2023?
The agreement could not continue with Alpine because I didn’t see anywhere to go the following year. And Alfa and Alpine are quite important competing brands – not just in Formula 1 but in general – so it wasn’t easy to leave Alpine.
« I’m very happy that everything went well because if I had another year, I think I would have been a bit stuck, just like Oscar now. So it’s not the best thing for me. I felt there was an opportunity here, so I seized the chance and I think it was a very good decision.
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Even though the Chinese driver still doesn’t have a contract for 2023, everything seems to be going in his direction as he is satisfying his boss, Fred Vasseur, and has scored points twice despite numerous mechanical issues.
