Eight races to go, then it will be the checkered flag. Formula 1 is preparing to face the last tour de force of its long season, ready to end on November 26th in Abu Dhabi. From Yas Marina onwards, it will already be time for the teams to focus on next season, in which not all of the drivers are yet certain of being there. This is the case of Guanyu Zhou who, at least to date, seems to be the only one of the twenty drivers on track to be at serious risk in view of next season.
Alfa reflects on Zhou…in Pourchaire?
At Alfa Romeo they continue to reflect. Zhou's contract expires this season and, although the car's performance is not excellent, the Chinese driver's work was not that much inferior to that of his teammate Bottas. A possible replacement for Zhou could be Pourchaire, increasingly leader in the championship F2, and already third driver of Alfa Romeo. However, another factor seems to influence Sauber's choice to renew Zhou starting from next season: from 2024, in fact, Alfa will leave the Sauber group – to link up with Haas – while the Hinwil team will link up with Audi starting from 2026.
Zhou admits: “Audi is delaying everything”
To admit that since the arrival of Audi the negotiations for the renewal of the contract have slowed down a bit it is the same Zhou who spoke during the weekend held last week in Monza"It's obvious that my goal is to sign a long-term contract. I must say, however, that it is not easy, also because since the arrival of Audi on their side they need much more time. But as far as I'm concerned my opinion hasn't changed: I would like to have a long term contract so you can be more relaxed, compared to only having an extension for one year".
“My priority is Alfa Romeo”
If Alfa and number #24 on the grid were to decide to part ways, what would its future be? Zhou knows about the few places available for next year and, at least for the moment, he prefers not to think about it: "At the moment, my priority is to renew and stay in Alfa. There aren't that many seats available, but I really want to stay where I am now".
