Zhou Guanyu stays assured of retaining his Alfa Romeo System 1 seat for 2023, regardless of admitting it will likely be “fairly busy” with drivers eager to exchange him.
Zhou turned the primary Chinese language driver to race in F1 when Alfa Romeo signed him to associate Valtteri Bottas for 2022, changing the retiring Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, who was dropped after three seasons on the finish of ’21.
The one rookie on the 2022 grid, Zhou has proven flashes of tempo, together with a factors end on his debut in Bahrain, however has suffered from poor reliability within the first half of the marketing campaign, and is almost 40 factors behind Bottas.
Nevertheless, Zhou is happy with the progress he’s making and stays assured of lining up on the grid for the 2023 season-opener.
Zhou settles into F1 with Alfa Romeo
“I am fairly blissful at Alfa Romeo, however I assume that the seat shall be fairly busy with all of the drivers desirous to go there, whether or not it could be F2 or reserve drivers,” Zhou advised media together with RacingNews365.com in Hungary.
“I feel it could be a bit bit like Alfa final 12 months (when the staff was linked to a number of drivers to exchange Raikkonen and Giovinazzi).
“I have not talked with any groups but. I am fairly settled down in Alfa Romeo. Originally of the season, I used to be nervous about my future. I am not nervous now.
“I have been by way of the purpose of proving myself to be as much as the velocity, and now it’s about higher consistency and making an attempt to enhance [a] little bit, step-by-step.”
Zhou blissful the place he’s as foolish season rumbles on
Zhou banked factors in Bahrain and Canada, though he is retired from a grid-high six Grands Prix from 13, and believes it’s best to stick with the identical staff for a second season, particularly as a rookie driver.
“I’ll by no means cool down as a result of I really feel like if I can simply maintain going the best way [I am], maintain getting higher race by race, I see no purpose why I should not be staying,” Zhou defined.
“I’m fairly blissful the place I’m, and I really feel like why [should I] transfer to a brand new staff like [I did] final 12 months, coming from the Alpine Academy?
“You get entangled already within the F1 staff mission to then be in a totally completely different ambiance.
“All the things has modified a lot, we’ve got to spend so much of time studying procedures-wise, the steering wheel, [and] the best way groups drive their automobiles are all the time completely different and it takes time for everybody.
“I really feel like, particularly for a rookie, it is higher to only go together with a staff you all the time know.
“To start with of the 12 months [it is] fairly unknown what the longer term shall be, however now I really feel just like the extra races I do, everybody’s fairly blissful within the staff, and it makes me really feel fairly nicely and have momentum going ahead for the approaching races.”