LONDON: China could have its first Formula 1 driver next season if the Alfa Romeo team decides to defeat Italian Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Swiss team’s seat is the only one with persistent uncertainty after Aston Martin confirmed an unchanged line-up on Thursday and a handful of candidates are eager to fill it.
One of them is the Chinese Guanyu Zhou, currently runner-up overall in Formula 2 and test driver for Renault’s own Formula 1 team, Alpine.
The 22-year-old is 15 points behind the Australian Oscar Piastri, who is also a member of the Alpine Academy.
Shanghai-born Zhou is considered a favorite and is reported by Chinese sponsors, a move that would also excite F1 Liberty Media’s commercial rights holders.
Alongside the USA, China is an important growth market for sport and hosted a Grand Prix in Shanghai for the first time in 2004.
However, no Chinese driver came closer to the starting grid than taking part in Friday practice.
Zhou did so in July with Alpine, who have no vacancies in their own team, while Ma Qing Hua appeared in Chinese Grand Prix training in 2013 with the now defunct Caterham.
Alfa Romeo, based in Switzerland, has only confirmed Valtteri Bottas, who is changing from Master Mercedes to replace retired compatriot Kimi Räikkönen, although Giovinazzi’s future is uncertain.
Giovinazzi is supported by Ferrari, who supplies Alfa’s engines, and is Italy’s only F1 driver.
The team is free to choose its drivers, however, and commercial considerations could play a role – with talk of Zhou attracting tens of millions of dollars for a privately owned team that ranks ninth out of ten.
Alfa team boss Fred Vasseur told reporters at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend that Zhou was one of five or six names under consideration.
“Zhou is doing a good job in Formula 2 and is definitely on the list,” said the Frenchman.
“It’s not just because he’s Chinese, he’s a front runner in F2. He’s won a couple of races and I think every single team in F1 looks at him.
“We’ll see where we stand in two or three events, how every single driver develops in F2.”
Alfa Romeo also has up-and-coming Sauber Academy star Theo Pourchaire to consider, but the Frenchman has just turned 18 and has no F1 track time, making him more of a prospect for 2023. Sauber leads the team under the Alfa brand.
Mercedes is looking to place its Formula E champion Nyck de Vries, who won the F2 title in 2019, but the Dutch driver’s bond with the German manufacturer is a complication for a team closely linked to Ferrari.
“I think the situation at Mercedes is not easy,” said Vasseur.
