The ‘underestimated’ 2022 rookie set to make F1 history

Formula 1 established a foothold in China with the first grand prix in Shanghai in 2004. But the crowds took their time coming. What the series’ bosses have always craved is a local star to help properly tap into the latent riches of the world’s second-largest economy.

In 2022, F1 will finally get its first full-time Chinese driver when Guanyu Zhou graduates from Formula 2, joining Alfa Romeo as Valtteri Bottas’s team-mate. The announcement of Zhou – colloquially known as ‘Joe’ – was heralded as being “fantastic news for F1” by head honcho Stefano Domenicali, who was delighted that “the millions of passionate Chinese fans now have a home hero to cheer all year long”.

It’s certainly a breakthrough moment for F1, but Zhou’s signing was anything but a formality. A potential buyout of the team nearly derailed his F1 dreams completely. And even when he was announced, a barrage of criticism followed – given the calibre of rival drivers who were arguably outperforming him in F2 yet missed out, it was inevitable there would be suggestions he is in effect a pay driver.

These are claims Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur brushes off, saying Zhou’s performance in F2 this year – where he claimed three race wins and sat second in the standings at the time of his signing – was “speaking for itself”. And Vasseur has a fine record as a talent spotter – his ART Grand Prix organisation has guided a good many drivers through to F1, including champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and rising stars such as Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and George Russell.

“He won this season in Bahrain, Monaco and Silverstone,” Vasseur says. “In F2, they’re the most demanding tracks. He scored pole positions. He’s always there, consistent and I’m sure he will do well on the next step.”

Zhou has widely been regarded as China’s brightest talent for several years. He first linked up with the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2014 while still in go-karts before switching to the Renault – now Alpine – junior programme in early 2019. Alpine Academy director Mia Sharizman formed a three-year plan to prepare Zhou to make the step up for 2022, believing him to be China’s only F1 hope for “the next 15-to-20 years”.

Zhou got his first miles with Alfa under his belt in the Abu Dhabi rookie test last year

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Vasseur highlights the determination Zhou showed in leaving China for Europe as a teenager to chase his F1 dream.

“We know perfectly that when you move from Europe even to Japan, it’s not an easy move for a driver – and Zhou did the opposite,” he says. “But when you are 13, and you move to Europe just because you want to become a racing driver, for me, it’s a huge commitment.”

Entering his third F2 season with UNI-Virtuosi in 2021, Zhou knew that a title challenge was the minimum expectation. His early-season form thrust him to the top of the standings, but a poor weekend in Sochi – including a spin on the formation lap – left him a distant 36 points behind fellow Alpine junior Oscar Piastri before the season-ending rounds in Jeddah and Abu Dhabi, where he also slipped behind Robert Shwartzman to third in the standings.

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But plans for Zhou to move up to F1 were already well advanced. Alpine had put him through a rigorous private testing programme and fielded him in FP1 for the Austrian Grand Prix. While the team itself had no seat available, having signed Esteban Ocon to a long-term deal and triggered the option in Fernando Alonso’s contract, it would not stand in Zhou’s way if he could land a drive elsewhere.

"Everybody is underestimating the level of performance and the job done by Zhou this season" Frederic Vasseur

Alfa Romeo emerged as the only real destination for Zhou. Vasseur hinted he could look to bring in a rookie to partner the incoming Bottas from Mercedes, but continued to insist there was no rush to decide. Alex Albon and Nyck de Vries were both linked with the seat, yet once Albon signed for Williams, it left all the power with Alfa Romeo in the driver market since it held the final vacancy.

Zhou’s management team, which includes former Manor F1 boss Graeme Lowdon, set to work on getting a deal across the line. The combination of Zhou’s F2 record and experience, plus his backing from an array of Chinese sponsors, meant that by September a deal was understood to be a formality.

And then Andretti entered the fray. As America’s foremost racing dynasty accelerated plans to secure involvement in F1 by acquiring a majority stake in Sauber, which runs the Alfa Romeo team, Zhou’s hopes lay in the balance. Michael Andretti made clear that his intention was to place his young IndyCar star, Colton Herta, in the seat. Early plans were drawn up for Herta to appear in practice for the United States Grand Prix. But the acquisition deal ultimately fell apart owing to what Andretti called “control issues”.

Zhou's F2 campaign tailed off as he finished third, but it was enough to secure him an F1 berth

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

This put the Zhou deal back on track and the announcement followed in November. Zhou would depart Alpine with the blessing of race drivers Alonso and Ocon, both of whom said they were excited to see him on the grid next season. Alfa Romeo dealerships in Shanghai celebrated the news with banners proclaiming China’s first full-time F1 driver, while Zhou himself recognised it was “a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history”.

“I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more,” he said.

Yet not all parties were so complimentary. The man Zhou was ousting, Antonio Giovinazzi, took to social media to express his disappointment, saying: “When money rules, it can be ruthless.” That earned him a rebuke from Vasseur, and was somewhat ironic given Giovinazzi’s own F1 graduation hinged on the team’s relationship with Ferrari. But it reignited the debate about so-called ‘pay drivers’.

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Vasseur acknowledges Zhou’s financial support was important, helping to boost the team’s income, but says the primary criteria remained on-track performance.

“[Budget] was a pillar of the decision for sure,” he says. “I was always clear like this, because we want to get to the cost cap [Alfa Romeo is currently understood to be operating well below F1’s recently introduced budget cap]. It’s the best way for us to perform. But it’s not the only one.

“Everybody is underestimating the level of performance and the job done by Zhou this season.”

The driver many felt on paper was more deserving of the seat was Zhou’s F2 title rival and Alpine Academy peer. Piastri, who as a rookie has won more plaudits than Zhou this season, didn’t have the budget to compete for the drive. But Piastri has defended Zhou, calling the criticism “pretty unfair”.

Zhou will have the weight of a nation on his shoulders, but Alfa believes he can do the job

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

“We all know he’s bringing some financial backing behind him, but he’s not doing poorly,” Piastri says. “He’s second in the championship, he’s got the same number of wins as me, he led the championship for the first part of the year. He’s certainly not coming in with no results at all.”

While Alfa Romeo made it clear that Bottas had joined on a multi-year agreement, there was no such detail given for Zhou. Vasseur shies away from expanding on contractual information, simply saying he anticipates a “long-term collaboration”.

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But much as Alpine had junior drivers knocking loudly on its door, Vasseur may find himself in a similar position. At 18, Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire starred in his rookie F2 campaign, winning at Monaco and Monza. He enjoyed a first F1 run-out in the summer, and is being whispered about as the next big thing.

Like many other recent F1 graduates, while his junior record might not indicate he’s a future champion, Zhou has done enough to earn his shot and the chance to impress

Vasseur says it would have been “too risky” to hand the seat immediately to Pourchaire, who will remain in F2, tasked with winning the championship. While he may lack experience – he was in F4 when Zhou made his F2 debut – Pourchaire is surely a talent Alfa will not want to relinquish.

Is Zhou a stop-gap? So long as Alfa Romeo needs his added backing to push towards the cost cap, his value will remain high. And like many other recent F1 graduates, while his junior record might not indicate he’s a future champion, Zhou has done enough to earn his shot and the chance to impress.

It is a chance both he and F1 have long coveted. Just as a six-year-old Zhou was captivated by Alonso driving for Renault when attending his first Shanghai race in 2005, F1 will hope he can be the catalyst to inspire a generation of Chinese fans.

Zhou has faced a difficult road in becoming his nation's first F1 driver, but now his toughest challenge awaits

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Oscar nominated

Oscar Piastri has been a victim of his own success. When the Australian joined the F1 support ladder in 2019, racing in F3, Alpine made the plan clear: two years in F3, two years in F2, and then we’ll see about a possible F1 seat.

Piastri blew that apart. He won F3 at the first attempt, and quickly surged into F2 title contention in 2021. His success meant that Alpine decided regardless of whether he won the F2 title or not, he wouldn’t be returning this year.

Without bags of cash behind him, Piastri knew securing a 2022 F1 drive was always a “very outside chance”. He will spend the 2022 season as Alpine’s reserve driver, completing an extensive test programme on the side.

A season without racing may seem odd for a talent with a junior CV that would put most of the F1 grid to shame, yet Piastri – who is managed by Mark Webber – is taking it in his stride.

“I would have loved to be on the grid, but I’m certainly not disappointed with what the outcome is,” Piastri says. “It’s nice to be ahead of schedule and having these results on my CV to help me for anything in the future.”

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With Zhou now out of the picture at Alpine, Piastri is set to lead its academy roster. He will surely become a regular fixture in the driver market silly season until he finally gets his shot in F1 – something for which Alpine will want to ensure he doesn’t have to wait too long.

Piastri beat his fellow Alpine Academy member to the 2021 F2 title, but won't race in F1 this year

Photo by: Alpine