Guanyu Zhou, F1 driver

While Bottas continuing with the Swiss outfit was a formality, there had been some question marks over Zhou.However, the Chinese driver has now been signed for a third year with the team, which is expected to revert to the Sauber identity for the next two years, ahead of the full transition to the Audi name in 2026.Current FIA F2 championship leader Theo Pourchaire will also remain in his reserve ...

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Despite Zhou being the first full-time Chinese F1 racer, there has been speculation he does not come with major financial banking to incentivise Alfa Romeo to agree on new terms.Speaking ahead of the summer break, Alfa Romeo F1 managing director Alessandro Alunni Bravi reckoned his squad wanted to retain its line-up of Zhou and Valtteri Bottas - who moved from Mercedes for 2022 on a two-year deal ...

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On lap 61 of 72 anticipated heavy showers hit the Zandvoort track, prompting the entire field to change to intermediates of full wets.But even on rain tyres, drivers struggled to navigate the Turn 1 hairpin, with Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu helplessly aquaplaning off the road and into the Tecpro barriers.That caused an initial Virtual Safety Car, which was soon converted into a red flag after 65 laps ...

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After an uneven rookie season, Zhou was afforded the room to grow at the Hinwil squad for a second year. The Chinese driver has rewarded that faith with more consistent and confident performances across the first half of the 2023 season.Even if Alfa Romeo's disappointing car performance meant it has been tough for Zhou to stand out, he hopes to use the August break to agree terms on a fresh ...

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The Chinese racer managed his best F1 qualifying effort to date on Saturday to start fifth but was swamped by the pack after a sluggish getaway, before running into the back of Daniel Ricciardo's AlphaTauri under braking for Turn 1.Ricciardo then inadvertently punted Esteban Ocon into Pierre Gasly, with both Alpine cars eliminated as a result.Zhou copped front wing damage in the impact and also ...

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F1 2023's extremely tight midfield battle is trademarked by an ebb and flow of teams rushing out parts that can yield several positions, but while several teams have made significant gains, Alfa Romeo has been quietly slipping backwards in recent weeks.
Valtteri Bottas and Zhou qualified 14th and 17th respectively at the Austrian Grand Prix. And while Bottas' race was compromised by front wing ...

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Key was eased out of a similar role at McLaren earlier this year after a shake-up of technical responsibilities.
He was soon hired by his former boss Andreas Seidl, who as CEO of Sauber Motorsport is responsible for preparing the Swiss organisation for the arrival of Audi in 2026.
Key, who had a previous spell at Sauber between 2010 and 2012, will join the Hinwil outfit on September 1.
He ...

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On lap 56 of 66 in a round dominated by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, Alfa Romeo racer Zhou used DRS to challenge Tsunoda for ninth place around the outside into the Turn 1 right-hander.
But as the corner transitioned into Turn 2, Zhou appeared to jink his machine to the left to then take to the escape road before he rejoined the circuit several car lengths behind Tsunoda.
The FIA stewards ...

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A slow launch from George Russell to trigger contact with the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly sent the Mercedes spinning into Zhou on the approach to the Turn 1 right-hander.
The collision with rookie Zhou was enough to flip his car, which then skated on its roll hoop across the asphalt before digging in through the gravel trap.
The Alfa then became airborne to clear the tyre barrier until it was ...

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After an uneven debut season that hinted at Zhou's underlying promise, the Chinese driver was retained for a second year and immediately got off to a stronger start.
While he was behind Bottas in Bahrain, Zhou qualified and finished ahead of the Finn in a difficult race for Alfa Romeo in Saudi Arabia.
When both drivers struggled with unexpected balance issues in Melbourne, Zhou outqualified ...

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After taking over from team-mate Sergio Perez for the afternoon session, Verstappen instantly lit up the timesheet in the Red Bull RB19 and carved his way to the top spot with a 1m31.650s on the C3 tyres.
The reigning world champion, who also spent the entire opening day of the test driving for Red Bull on Thursday, was duly further ahead on his test programme as some rivals didn't switch focus ...

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Zhou says that he never felt more nervous than he did before his first grand prix start in Bahrain last year, a race in which he scored a point with 10th place.
As the only newcomer on the 2022 grid, he went on to enjoy a solid season, despite being hit by reliability issues that cost him valuable points, and the team took up its option to keep him for this year.
"For sure less," he said ...

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Zhou graduated to F1 last year with Alfa Romeo, forming an all-new line-up at the Swiss-based squad alongside Bottas, who joined from Mercedes.
While Bottas was responsible for 49 of Alfa Romeo’s 55 points in 2022, Zhou drew praise for his performances through his rookie campaign, scoring a best result of eighth place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Bottas agreed with the ...

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The pair collided at the start of the British Grand Prix after Russell tagged Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri that was caught between them leaving the startline, which saw Zhou's Alfa Romeo then immediately flipped onto its rollhoop and slid at high speed through the gravel trap.
It then smashed over the tyre barrier and came to rest in between that structure and the track debris fencing protecting ...

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Zhou became the first Chinese driver to race in F1 this year, joining Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas to form an all-new driver line-up for the Swiss-based team.
Ahead of his F1 debut, Zhou faced criticism and even racist abuse online as trolls claimed he only got the nod for the seat due to his nationality and the associated sponsorship. 
But Zhou hit back on debut in Bahrain ...

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The FIA confirmed following the start of opening practice at the Circuit of The Americas that Red Bull's Perez and Alfa Romeo driver Zhou had taken an additional engine component since the last race in Japan.
In both cases, it is their fifth internal combustion engine of the season, meaning both Perez and Zhou will drop five places on the grid from their qualifying position on Saturday.
It ...

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The pair collided early in the race when Latifi moved across on Zhou, with the contact ending the Alfa Romeo driver's race on the spot.
Latifi picked up a puncture and after making it back to the pits he was forced to retire with suspension damage.
The stewards reviewed the incident during the race and determined that Latifi had not left a car's width and was predominantly responsible for ...

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On lap 7 of a wet-to-dry race, Alfa Romeo driver Zhou attempted to find a way past Latifi in a battle for 18th when he tried to pass the Canadian around the outside of Turn 5.
But Latifi appeared to squeeze Zhou into the wall, with the contact between the pair wrecking the Alfa Romeo's front right corner, forcing the Chinese driver to retire from the race on the spot.
Latifi also hit the ...

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Ahead of this weekend?s Singapore Grand Prix, it was announced that Alfa had taken up its option for Zhou?s continued services into 2023 after he made his F1 debut at the season-opening Bahrain race ? scoring points there and then putting in a string of impressive performances.
The confirmation of Zhou?s rookie deal was widely expected in the paddock given his early F1 career success ...

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The news has been expected for some time, and it's understood that the team officially took up its option on the Chinese driver at the end of last month, with the formal announcement timed to coincide with the sport's return to Asian marker for this weekend's Singapore GP.
Zhou scored points with a 10th place finish on his debut with Alfa Romeo in Bahrain, and followed up with eighth in Canada ...

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Zhou became China's first full-time F1 driver this year after graduating from Formula 2, partnering Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo.
But Zhou was subject to criticism and abuse online prior to his F1 debut as many questioned his suitability for the seat and tagged him as a pay driver. Antonio Giovinazzi, who Zhou replaced at Alfa Romeo, said after losing his seat that F1 could be "ruthless" when ...

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The Chinese driver stepped up to an F1 seat with Alfa Romeo this year after finishing as runner-up in last year?s Formula 2 championship, becoming Valtteri Bottas?s teammate as part of an all-new line-up at Hinwil.
Zhou holds one of the few remaining free seats on next year?s grid, but he said in Hungary that he was not giving thought to any drives elsewhere.
?I haven?t talked to ...

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The Chinese driver has impressed on his step up from F2 this season, scoring on his debut in Bahrain and adding further points in Canada.
And although his most famous moment of the year may well end up being his British GP crash, his performances behind the wheel at other venues have earned him high praise from his bosses.
Team chief Fred Vasseur said it was a must for Zhou to ...

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Zhou?s roll hoop was lost early in the incident after he was involved in a clash with George Russell and Pierre Gasly and flipped, with the hoop taking the initial impact when he landed upside down.
As his Alfa Romeo slid along the track surface Zhou was protected by the Halo before the car entered the gravel trap and flipped over the barrier.
Alfa Romeo is the only team in the pitlane to ...

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From 13th on the grid the Chinese driver was the best placed qualifier to start on the hards, joining Yuki Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
However he says that the strategy didn?t work out, and he struggled with excessive degradation.
Zhou?s weekend was already spoiled when his engine cut out as he drove to the grid for the start of Saturday?s sprint.
He was forced to ...

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