Zhou Guangyu: Leaving Alpine was the right decision, today’s situation proves it

The twenty-three year old driver drove his first race in the queen of motorsport this year in Bahrain in an Alfa Romeo. But in recent years he has been supported by another stable – Alpine – in the junior categories. But when he finished his third season in Formula 2 (third in the championship), he decided not to continue with the team and go in a different direction.

There were many interested parties, but only one place

By leaving the Enstone team’s academy, Chou was trying to avoid the battle for the place alongside Esteban Ocon that Fernando Alonso has until the end of this season. Although the Chinese racer’s performances had not disappointed, he knew that Alpine would prefer another member of its academy – F2 champion Oscar Piastri – over him.

Zhou was faced with a relatively easy choice. Wait for the contracts of the two drivers in the Ocon-Alonso-Piastri trio to expire, or try his luck elsewhere. Alfa Romeo was looking for two drivers at once and chose Chou along with the experienced Valtteri Bottas.

In the first race, he scored a point for tenth place. He has continued to put in solid performances throughout the season, but is still 41 points behind his Finnish teammate. The young driver continues to show great progress and it is very likely that the team will extend his contract, which expires after this season.

While Zhou is gaining experience, Oscar Piastri is still waiting for his opportunity. The reigning Formula 2 champion has had to settle for a reserve role at Alpine for this season, with the possibility of replacing Fernando Alonso next year.

But Alpine wanted to keep the two-time champion for another season. While they negotiated in vain to extend his contract (Alonso announced a move to Aston Martin after the Hungarian GP), Piastri found a place elsewhere. Probably.

“It wasn’t easy to leave Alpin, but I’m very happy that it all worked out. If I’d been there another year, I would have stuck around just like Oscar is now,” Zhou told Racer.

Alpine has lost three very talented pilots in one year and who will fill the previously coveted spot next to Ocon remains a mystery.

Sources