Guanyu Zhou and the powerful reasons for China's landing

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On July 2, when he took

car

to participate in the first free practice sessions of the Austrian GP,

felt more than overwhelmed. The young Alpine tester knew of the influence of that session on the millionaire contracts of his sponsors and of the undisguised interest of

, CEO of F1, in the Chinese market. His goal, in any case, was to return the two-time champion's A521 without a scratch to the garage. Yesterday, four months after that Friday at Spielberg, Zhou made his signing for Alfa Romeo official to become the first Chinese driver to contest a World Championship.

Zhou, who only signs for one year, will be the only

of the next championship and will form a peculiar pair with

,

squire

at Mercedes for the last six seasons. At the start of a cycle marked by the regulatory revolution, Alfa Romeo is looking for a new impulse to get out of the well. And the commitment to Zhou, whose sponsors intend to inject more than 25 million euros into the project, seems, if not the most suitable, then the most pragmatic.

"We can not hide the financial reasons," admitted yesterday

, head of the Ferrari subsidiary team, whose annual outlay is not even remotely close to its budget limit (145 million).

The Asian giant, in this way, now seems like a real candy for the

brand

and for Orlen, the Polish oil company that has been supporting the expenses of the equipment since the beginning of 2020.

In the shadow of Piastri

Even after three years without an F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai, due to the pandemic, China continues to emerge as a basic pillar for Liberty Media. It is not only about refreshing that exotic debut of

at the wheel of an HRT at the 2012 Italian GP, ​​but also outlining a powerful plan for the future. For now, the renewal until 2025 was made official just two weeks ago.

The Zhou case bears striking similarities to those of

,

and

, who joined Haas, Williams and Aston Martin thanks to their excessive financial backing. However, it would be unfair to ignore its merits on asphalt, which are superior to those of the examples mentioned. For three seasons in F2, all under the Alpine umbrella, Zhou has shown speed and consistency. Without going any further, this year's triumphs in Monaco, Bahrain and Silverstone still leave him with some chance of winning the title. In the absence of two tests, he has 36 points less than his garage companion,

, the greatest talent of his generation.

The constant comparisons with the Australian represent, in fact, Zhou's weak point.

Piastri, champion in the Eurocup Renault and the F3 in his

years

, has the magic that already distinguished

or

in their formative years.

Guanyu, on the other hand, despite his irreproachable character, forged since his arrival at the Ferrari Academy at the age of 13, lacks that touch.

In addition, he must still regret the problem with the accelerator suffered in Baku and a couple of spins, in Silverstone and Sochi, which exacerbated his disadvantage against Piastri in the general classification.

The hug between Zhou and Alonso, during the Austrian GP.ALPINE RACING

Starting today, it's time to put everything you've learned into practice in the Enstone simulator.

Because the farewells should not be delayed for Zhou, who will have already underlined in his agenda the second week of December, when the first test with Alfa Romeo awaits him in Abu Dhabi.

Alpine's reaction

Graeme Lowdon

, his manager, will have to combat the critical voices spread through the

. The most belligerent, obviously, arrived yesterday in the mouth of the main victim. "F1 is emotion, talent, risk, speed ... But when it sends the money it can be ruthless," argued

, who says goodbye to his seat, after three mediocre seasons, to find a place in Formula E. Another severe setback to F1 in Italy, which in 1991 had 13 drivers on the grid and will not have any next season.

In the middle of this downcast winter market, Alpine does seem to have reacted with a greater vision and yesterday made the hiring of Piastri official as a new tester.

The maneuver of

and

admits numerous interpretations, although none as interesting as the one that affects Alonso's own future, which still does not clear his intentions as of 2023.

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