Guanyu Zhou feels ‘he would have been stuck like Oscar’ at Alpine

Guanyu Zhou feels ‘he would have been stuck like Oscar’ at Alpine

Zhou and Piastri

Guanyu Zhou the Alfa Romeo driver has kept a keen eye over the second seat saga at Alpine and has admitted that he made the right decision by cutting all ties with the French team ahead of the 2022 season. Guanyu Zhou was in the Alpine junior program for several years alongside Oscar Piasrti.

Zhou’s departure to Alfa Romeo made it easy for Alpine to appoint Oscar Piastri as the reserve driver for the current season, but, ever since Fernando Alonso’s surprise announcement, the French team has been in absolute ruins.

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After Fernando Alonso confirmed that he was going to drive for Aston Martin in 2023, Alpine made a public announcement and promoted Piastri to drive alongside Esteban Ocon next season.

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However, just a few hours after Alpine’s announcement, the 21-year-old via his official Twitter handle said that he has not signed a contract with the French stable and is not going to drive for them next season.

Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu

The Australian’s statement sent shockwaves throughout the F1 community and Zhou believes that given the shenanigans that are taking place within the Alpine setup, he made the right call by leaving ahead of the season.

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Guanyu Zhou is no longer associated with the Alpine F1 team

Guanyu Zhou
Guanyu Zhou

The Chinese driver was prolific for Alpine during his time as their junior driver but after making a switch to Ferrari’s sister team Alfa Romeo, he has revealed that he no longer holds any ties with the Enstone-based F1 team. “I’ve been completely released.”

Moreover, he has said that his contract with the team ended at the end of 2021 and when Alfa Romeo called, he was more than pleased to join the Sauber F1 team.

Zhou while talking about his decision said, “I’m very happy that everything worked out well because if I had another year I’d be kind of stuck, the same now with Oscar. So it’s not the best thing for me. I feel like there was an opportunity here so I went for it, and I think it was a very good decision.”

While Guanyu Zhou has found a place for himself in the sport, Oscar Piastri is still trying to find one, and given the interest that he has garnered in recent days, where do you think the 21-year-old is going to end up?

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