Zhou wants to stay at Alfa Romeo
For his first season in Formula 1, the Chinese driver has accumulated 5 points after 13 races. Although this may not seem sufficient in terms of scoring, the driver is not concerned about his future, and the comments from the members of his team suggest that a contract extension is likely if he continues on this trajectory.
The Chinese driver is embarking on his first season in Formula 1 with Alfa Romeo after finishing second in the Formula 2 championship. He has become Valtteri Bottas’ teammate, forming an unprecedented duo of drivers.
Guanyu Zhou holds one of the last available seats for next season, as his contract has not been extended yet. He had declared in Hungary that he doesn’t pay attention to the other drivers.
« I haven’t talked about it with the team yet. I feel very happy and settled at Alfa Romeo. At the beginning of the season, maybe I was worried about my future, but now I don’t worry too much anymore.
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« I feel like I have passed the point where I had to prove my worth, and now I have to continue to be consistent, and of course, progress little by little, even more towards the end of the season. So far, I am very happy to work with this team. If I continue to stay competitive and improve race after race, there is no reason for me to leave. »
Alfa Romeo is satisfied with Zhou.
Frédéric Vasseur, leader of the Alfa Romeo team, spoke in the columns of Motorsport before the summer break about the Chinese driver.
« It is important that he is focused on the next four or five races. He knows the tracks. I was a bit worried about the Montreal, Imola, and Baku Grand Prix because he didn’t know these tracks which are not easy, but he did very well.
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Until now, we have had too many reliability issues, but he has performed well. I am very confident regarding the upcoming races that he will quickly learn the tracks.
The Technical Director of Alfa Romeo spoke last month about their driver and stated that Zhou was surely the surprise of the season in F1. Vasseur added that he was doing a perfect job after his very impressive race in Canada.
He does an excellent job both inside and outside the car. He is a very good teammate. He always brings additional motivation, a positive attitude, and it is very beneficial for us.
Until now, the Chinese driver has only scored 5 points but remains quite unlucky with reliability issues, as well as being a victim of a serious accident at Silverstone even before the first turn. He has been forced to retire 4 times in 13 races and has finished just outside the points twice. The second half of the season could be better in terms of points. The team seems very satisfied with his contribution in his first season.
