The announcement of the agreement with Guanyu Zhou for the 2021 season has clarified the scenario for Alfa Romeo Racing in the short and long term.
The team easily got what they wanted, that is a restriction for a single season, then it will be time for evaluations again based on what Zhou’s performance has been and the position in the new protégé of team principal Fred Vasseur, or eighteen-year-old Theo Pourchaire .
Immediately after the announcement that Zhou’s engagement was made official, Vasseur took stock with Motorsport.com on what was a hot summer in terms of negotiations with the drivers, which ended with the change of the entire line-up. who ended the relationship with Antonio Giovinazzi after three seasons. Vasseur did not want to go into the merits of the reasons that led to this epilogue, preferring to focus on the reasons that led to the choice of the Bottas-Zhou tandem.
Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
For Alfa Romeo Racing it was a complex summer on the drivers market front. How did your work develop?
“The first step was to wait for Kimi’s intentions, who at the end of July communicated his decision to stop at the end of the current championship. Having two contracts expiring at the beginning of the season, we had already begun to probe Valtteri’s availability, and, when we heard of Kimi’s intentions, we accelerated to get to the signing of the contract as soon as possible. And at that point the evaluations for the second car began “.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C41
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
For what reasons did you end the relationship with Giovinazzi?
“We considered all aspects related to the situation, and we made the decision to focus on Zhou. Antonio spent three seasons with us, alternating highs and lows, like everyone else. I have never complained about my pilots and I will not do it now, it has always been my approach and my philosophy, and when there have been aspects to be clarified with one of my pilots, I have always done it privately and not through the media ” .
“Over the three seasons he spent with us Antonio has grown, but we are on the eve of a new cycle for Formula 1, a new challenge launched by the new technical regulations, and considering our perspective if there is a change to be made. this is the right time ”.
However, Zhou’s arrival was also accompanied by not exactly positive judgments …
“There are many opinions. Personally I believe that a driver capable of imposing himself in Formula 2 on tracks like Bahrain or Silverstone is able to do a good job: overall Guanyu is having a good season and this regardless of what the final result of the championship will be, or if it will be or less champion 2021 “.
“Formula 2 is having a hard-fought season, and Zhou has been consistently in the top positions taking wins, pole positions and completing some good races. He has also had the opportunity to get into a Formula 1 during the season, and that has helped to increase his experience package in view of the definitive transition next year “.
Zhou is currently racing with the colors of the Alpine supply chain. Will he end his contract with the French team in view of his arrival in Alfa Romeo Racing?
“Yes, and we have to thank Alpine who will free him from any contractual obligation at the end of the weekend in Abu Dhabi. From the next day we will be able to start working together “.
How much has the possibility of having a testimonial who can open the doors of the Chinese market influenced your choice?
“It is obviously a great opportunity for both our team’s marketing and our sponsors. More generally, I think it is an important opportunity for all of Formula 1, including the other teams, but as far as we are concerned we will obviously work in the reality of our team ”.
Is the decision to have a rookie like Zhou also linked to the presence in the team of an experienced driver like Bottas?
“Undoubtedly. As I said, we are on the eve of a major technical change, there are not many tests available and starting to ride with a completely new car there are reliability problems that could reduce the time available on the track ” .
“For beginners it will not be easy, and I think the minimum requirement to help Guanyu is to be able to count on the presence of an experienced teammate, who can take charge of the initial phase of work with the team, also guaranteeing a reference to those like him. taking his first steps. Valtteri is perfect for this role, both considering the help he can guarantee to Zhou and the indications he can provide to the team, he comes from a context of absolute value and will be able to tell us precisely where we will be in terms of potential “.
Théo Pourchaire, Alfa Romeo
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
At a certain point in the season it seemed that for the second car there was also the candidacy of Theo Pourchaire, driver of your Academy.
“Theo has had two very positive seasons in 2020 and 2021, last year I was not convinced of the choice to make him pass immediately to Formula 3 but he managed to do a great job (second in the championship), so this year he had to face a very demanding challenge such as the transition to Formula 2 “.
“Here too he is doing a great job, but we must always keep in mind that we are talking about a guy who was in Formula 4 twenty months ago, and if we had decided to promote him to Formula 1 next year we would have taken many risks”.
“When a young rookie arrives in Formula 1, in fact, he has only one chance to impress in the right way, and if at the beginning of the season he needs a little more time to express himself at his best, he risks being judged as one of many. Theo will continue to do well, his time will come, and he will have the opportunity to prepare himself in the best possible way in view of that moment ”.
Were the rumors of an Oscar Piastri candidacy also founded?
“My job is to evaluate all the possibilities that the market offers, I know Mark (Webber, manager of Piastri) well and, of course, we talked to each other. But in this case Alpine has an ongoing project with Oscar, they are not yet sure if next year he will be in Formula 2 (if he wins the championship, of which he is the leader, he will no longer be able to race in the series) but in general we did not want to take with us a rider with the prospect that in twelve months we could have lost ”.
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