Zhou Guanyu, is rumored he could lose his Alfa Romeo seat for 2024. Why and who could be the possible replacement?
Zhou’s renewal in Alfa Romeo for the 2023 season was the result of the dedication and skill of the Chinese driver. The Chinese driver got plenty of criticism when he landed in F1. Partially due to the divorce between Antonio Giovinazzi and Alfa Romeo. The team didn’t inform Giovinazzi of the dismissal while promotional posters were already being made in China. Something Zhou had very little to do with.
Zhou’s F1 debut was not the easiest: having Valtteri Bottas as a reference and teammate is not easy, but nevertheless he surprised many of those detractors. 2023 represents his second season: few mistakes, good results, even better than some other young people who have been in Formula One for several years.
Zhou Rumours
When the summer break arrived so did the rumors. Zhou is currently one of many riders without a contract after this season. With the good results achieved so far, he hopes that he would continue with the same team, but according to the latest rumors, the team may choose not to renew his contract due to a lack of budget.
After the 2023 F1 season, Alfa Romeo will no longer be part of the Sauber team as it is now. Instead, Sauber will be an independent team with minimal support from Audi. In 2026, Audi should become the works’ manufacturer for Sauber. However, that is still some time away.
Their current contract with Zhou Guanyu is estimated to be around $500,000 and with all that, the Sauber F1 team is no match for it. Furthermore, Zhou expects a salary increase from next season, but currently it seems that they will not be able to accommodate his request.
His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, is paid about 10 million dollars a year, and according to logical reasoning, it would be cheaper to get rid of him, but he has a contract that expires in 2025 and the team would have to pay Bottas millions if wanted to break this contract. So the one who has to sacrifice is the Chinese pilot.
Theo Pourchaire in?
Given the budget problem, the team would opt for a rookie. Who would most likely accept a low salary, rather than a driver who already raced in F1 and who would require a large sum of money.
Among the names that stand out the most as possible replacements is Theo Pourchaire. He is a French racing driver, winner of the German F4 championship 2019, runner-up in F3 2020 with ART Grand Prix and runner-up in F2 2022. Since 2021 he has been involved in Formula 2 with ART. He is currently a member of the Sauber Academy. For the current season, he has only won one race, however he leads the championship.
Pourchaire is a driver who has a lot of potential, and his fans have repeatedly speculated about his debut in F1. And it looks like this dream could soon turn into reality.
But the rumors are just rumors, and for more concrete news we will have to wait for the season finale. Despite this, the Zhou Guanyu has shown that he deserves this seat, showing talent and delivering excellent results.
