Alonso 'happy' to see rookie Zhou racing in Formula 1

Alpine's Fernando Alonso says he's happy that Guanyu Zhou has been given an opportunity to race in Formula 1 as China's first Grand Prix driver.

Zhou will undertake his first campaign in F1 with Alfa Romeo Racing, having risen through motorsport's junior ranks since 2015 when he kick-started his single-seater career in the Italian and German F4 championships with Prema.

Zhou was enrolled into Renault's driver academy in 2019 and served as a development driver for the French outfit in F1 while taking part in the FIA Formula 2 Championship during three seasons with UNI-Virtuosi Racing and winning a total of five races in the series.

Alonso became acquainted with the 22-year-old Chinese driver at the end of 2020 when he started his private test program with Alpine ahead of his return last season to F1's fray, later sharing the track with the future F1 young gun.

"I'm happy for him," Alonso told the media at the end of last year. "He's a nice kid, and we obviously had him on the academy this year, so I had a few days with him in testing.

"Also last year when I was testing the old Renault on my comeback to the sport, I share with Zhou a couple of days in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

"So yeah, we have a good relationship, as I said, happy for him with this opportunity."

• Read also: Bottas determined to work well with 'hungry' teammate Zhou

As China's first F1 driver, Zhou's presence among motorsport's elite has been hailed as a milestone event for the sport. Alonso regrets the departure from the grid of Antonio Giovinazzi whom Zhou has replaced at Alfa.

But the 40-year-old Spaniard agrees that the former Alpine junior's promotion is good overall for F1.

"Antonio is stepping out, which is always how it works [in] sport," Alonso said.

"But it's good for Formula 1 in general, I think, [and] for China, for Zhou. We are all looking forward to race with him, and [to] welcome him in the best way possible."

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