Alfa Romeo Racing is beginning to see greater sponsorship interest from China though progress has been “difficult”, according to its team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
Vasseur has acknowledged that despite Alfa Romeo’s ties with a few Chinese companies, like dairy brand AMX, Zhou’s arrival has not brought the team the sponsorship windfall it had hoped for.
After gaining a place at Alfa Romeo for this season, Zhou Guanyu became the first Chinese driver to compete full-time in the international motorsport series.
The possibility of expanding the team’s commercial chances in his native nation was one of the draws of signing the 23-year-old.
Vasseur noted that they signed with SenseTime and already had AMX, which are the two main sponsors they have from China.
He added that it might take some time or that Zhou might have to score and deliver first before attracting new sponsors.
Vasseur seemed to be willing to play the long game, but he stressed that Zhou’s presence was a plus and not the only reason they decided to hire the former Alpine test driver and Formula Two racer.
Zhou placed tenth in his first race in the Bahrain Grand Prix and eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix, giving him five points so far in his rookie Formula One season.
Although his presence has not yet resulted in a flurry of business deals for Alfa Romeo, Formula One itself may have him to thank for one of its deals. Before the 2022 season, the show announced in March that Lenovo, a Chinese technology giant, would be an official partner.
