As Formula 1’s driver market ‘silly season’ wound down in 2021 and this year’s grid fell into place, Alfa Romeo left it late to finalise its line-up.
Talks with Andretti over a possible takeover of the Sauber Group postponed a final decision on who would partner the incoming Valtteri Bottas in 2022. But the eventual collapse of talks meant that Guanyu Zhou clinched the seat to complete the grid in mid-November.
Barring a deal with Andretti that could have led to Colton Herta making a shock switch to F1, Zhou always looked bound for the second Alfa Romeo seat. The combination of Bottas’s experience plus nurturing a young talent in Zhou – supported by his array of Chinese sponsors – made it an ideal line-up for the team.
Bottas has signed a multi-year deal and is set to be the man Alfa Romeo builds itself around moving forward, while team boss Frederic Vasseur shortly after announcing Zhou that he hoped for a “long-term collaboration” with the F2 graduate.
But future driver…
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