Guanyu Zhou will replace Antonio Giovinazzi in the Alfa Romeo 2022 lineup

 

 

Guanyu Zhou will join Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo in 2022, replacing Antonio Giovinazzi and completing the grid for Formula One’s next era.

Zhou, a promising Formula 2 driver, will be the first full-time Chinese F1 driver, giving Alfa, which is presently tenth in the standings, a whole new driver line-up for next season.

With Kimi Raikkonen’s record-breaking Formula One career entering its final three races, Bottas is the team’s big signing for 2022 from Mercedes.

The Italian team thanked Giovinazzi for his “extraordinary contribution” over the past three years just before confirming Zhou, but it was not enough to prevent the team from going with the 22-year-old “trailblazer,” who has tested for Alpine as a reserve driver and will be the only rookie on the grid next year.

“To be the first-ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history,” said Zhou.

“I dreamt from a young age of climbing as high as I can in a sport that I am passionate about and now the dream has come true.”

Team boss Frederic Vasseur added: “He is a very talented driver, as his results in F2 have shown, and we are looking forward to helping his talent flourish even more in Formula 1.”