The Chinese language driver stepped as much as F1 with Alfa Romeo this 12 months after ending third in final season’s Components 2 championship, turning into Valtteri Bottas’s team-mate as a part of an all-new line-up at Hinwil.
Zhou holds one of many few remaining free seats on subsequent 12 months’s grid, however he mentioned in Hungary that he was not giving thought to any drives elsewhere.
“I haven’t talked to any groups but,” Zhou mentioned, previous to Fernando Alonso’s swap to Aston Martin being confirmed and McLaren’s plan to half firm with Daniel Ricciardo rising.
“I’m fairly glad and settled down in Alfa Romeo. On the minute, originally of the season, perhaps I used to be anxious about my future, however proper now, I’m not too anxious concerning the future.
“I really feel that I’ve been by the purpose to show myself and to be up to the mark, and now it’s about to maintain it there with higher consistency, after which yeah, making an attempt to enhance just a little bit step-by-step much more in direction of the top of the 12 months.
“Up to now, I’m fairly glad working along with this staff.”
Zhou has impressed by a lot of his first half-season in F1, together with a run to tenth on debut in Bahrain earlier than recording a greatest end of eighth on the Canadian Grand Prix in June.
Alfa Romeo technical director Jan Monchaux mentioned final month that Zhou had been the “shock of the season” in F1, indicating how happy the staff was along with his stage of efficiency up to now, whereas staff principal Frederic Vasseur hailed him for doing a “excellent job”.
Zhou mentioned he was but to take a seat down and speak with Alfa Romeo about his future, however that it might be a greater time to take action after the summer season break in Belgium.
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42
Photograph by: Antonin Vincent / DPPI
“Proper now, I don’t really feel I would like to fret about subsequent 12 months, regardless that I feel round summer season, Spa, is the time to speak concerning the future,” Zhou mentioned.
“However nonetheless up to now, it’s been fairly effectively settled down, and I really feel normally I’m not too anxious about [what] goes to be subsequent 12 months, if I’m going to have a seat or not.
“I really feel like if I can maintain going the way in which I’m, and maintain getting higher race by race, I see no cause why I shouldn’t keep right here.”
Chatting with Autosport earlier than the summer season break, Vasseur mentioned it was “essential for [Zhou] to be centered on the following 4 or 5 races” and to not dwell on his future.
“He is aware of the tracks,” Vasseur mentioned. “I used to be a bit scared with the sequence of Montreal, Imola, Baku, as a result of he didn’t know all of the tracks and so they weren’t simple ones. He did effectively.
“I feel, at this stage, we had too many points on the reliability facet, however he did effectively. I’m fairly assured with the following couple of occasions that he’ll shortly study the monitor.”