On 16 November, Zhou Guanyu became the first official Chinese driver in F1 history. It was a milestone day for both Chinese racing and the F1 race itself.
In the overseas media, Zhou Guanyu's entry into F1 has also aroused great concern. In the eyes of ESPN, Sky Sports, Reuters and other major media, Zhou Guanyu's strength in F2 is enough to be recognized, and the rumored $30 million sponsorship brought by Zhou Guanyu is not a matter that needs to be avoided, and Zhou Guanyu's economic and influence benefits are very important for the event.
Frederic Vasseur, head of the Alfa Romeo team, told Sky Sports, "We are 200% focused on the team's results and don't have to hide the fact that the economy is also part of the results. For the team, the economic return on Zhou Guanyu can also bring more budget to the team, which was set by F1 last season at $145 million, but Vasseur revealed that The actual expenditure of Alfa Romeo team is far from that figure. The new standard is already a limitation for big teams, but for small teams, tens of millions of dollars of sponsorship will give them the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with strong opponents.
In an interview with the BBC, Vasseur said, "F1 is a bit difficult today, except for the top two teams and Ferrari, the exposure of other teams is actually very low, which (signing Zhou Guanyu) may be the best way for us to increase our exposure." Racing media AUTOSPORT analysis said that the entire "paddock" of F1 hopes that he can have the same impact as Max Verstappen in the Netherlands or Sergio Perez in Mexico.
In addition, Bloomberg also believes that this is also the result of the behind-the-scenes push of Stellantis NV, the parent company of Alfa Romeo Racing. With 3.6 million cars sold globally in the first half of the year, but only 50,000 units sold in China, the world's largest passenger car market, the company hopes to use Zhou Guanyu as an important step in its strategy to reverse the current disappointment.
At the competitive level, Zhou Guanyu's past experience as an F1 test driver has also helped him a lot, Vasseur told AUTOSPORT, "He may have completed about 10 days of testing with F1 racing, and a lot of simulation courses." For new drivers, this training experience is important. ”
In the new season, Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo team may become the focus of media attention, not only because of Zhou Guanyu, but also the only team to replace all two drivers in the new season. They finished 9th out of 10 teams last season, and Walteri Bottas, who will partner Zhou Guanyu next year, will also shed the shadow of a long-term "auxiliary" Hamilton to prove himself in a team that values him more.
Zhou Guanyu's joining is a commercial victory for all parties, F1 China is also expected to resume in 2023, if Zhou Guanyu can come up with a good performance, he is expected to bring greater value.
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