Zhou’s pace in Formula 2 this season, coupled with healthy support from Chinese sponsors, has made the Alpine Academy driver the most likely candidate to compete alongside Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo in 2022.
Sources have suggested that a deal is as good as agreed and now just needs to be signed.
However, Vasseur insists that Alfa Romeo stay open about what it is doing for the next year and, most importantly, wants to wait a bit to see how the F2 campaign plays out.
Because in addition to Zhou on the radar, Alfa Romeo also wants to check the progress of Sauber Academy driver Theo Pourchaire.
In addition, current Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi is hoping to land a new contract with some strong performances, having recently impressed in qualifying.
When asked directly whether Zhou is on the Alfa Romeo shortlist, Vasseur said: “Zhou is doing a good job in Formula 2. He is definitely on the list.
“But it’s not just because he’s Chinese, he’s a front runner in Formula 2. He has won a few races and I think every single team in F1 takes care of him.
“But we have the first four events [of F2, that] went a little different. Now they’re going back to more standard tracks. And the young people in F2 have more experience and then we’ll see in two or three events where we stand and how each individual driver develops in F2. “
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Zhou is currently in second place in the F2 classification after Oscar Piastri took the championship lead after winning the main race at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend.
Vasseur assumes that Alfa Romeo will continue until after the F2 lap in Sochi on 25/26. September will wait before calling whether or not to choose Zhou or someone else.
And while Pourchaire has been strong in Formula 2 this season, Vasseur has hinted that his lack of experience with Formula 1 machines, having only taken one test in an old car at Hungaroring last month, could be a factor who works against him.
“We have to give Theo the time to improve and not only build the pace because he has the pace, but also all the training for it,” said Vasseur.
“He was 17 years old two months ago. F1 is very complicated. We have a very limited number of days of testing. We have a new car next year and we may have reliability issues. That means that we could arrive in Bahrain with a very low mileage and we have to take that into account.
“It’s never easy for the drivers, it’s a challenge, but we definitely have to give them time.”
Guanyu Zhou, Uni-Virtuosi Racing
Photo by: Uni-Virtuosi Racing
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