Alfa Romeo signed driver Zhou Guanyu for the 2024 Formula One season and will bring back an unchanged driver line-up next year that also includes veteran Valtteri Bottas.
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake made the announcement on Thursday in advance of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Bottas, a 10-time race winner, and Zhou, 24, will return to Alfa Romeo for a third straight year. Theo Pourchaire, a 20-year-old reserve driver from France, also will remain with the team.
Bottas, 34, of Finland, and Zhou stand 15th and 16th, respectively, in the F1 point standings. Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, driving for Red Bull, has dominated the season and has an almost insurmountable lead.
The dream team. ??
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake (@alfaromeostake) September 14, 2023
One more year of @ValtteriBottas, @ZhouGuanyu24 & @TPourchaire in 2024! #F1 pic.twitter.com/VE8D4eeQeC
Back at Alfa Romeo, Zhou became the first-ever Chinese driver in F1 as a rookie in 2022. Next year, when the Chinese Grand Prix returns to the schedule, he will have a chance to become the first driver from China in the race.
"Signing again with the team is always a great feeling, especially when we know how things are shaping up," Zhou said in a news release.
"I am proud to be part of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake and grateful for their trust: I have been working extremely hard since day one and there is an incredible level of motivation to keep doing so every day forward. My relationship with Valtteri is really good, and we are working closely together and with the team to push everyone forward. I am also very excited about the opportunity to finally race with my team in China, in front of my home crowd. It will be a great moment and I'm proud to be able to share it with all those who have supported me."
Happy to announce that I’ll be continuing with @alfaromeostake, let’s keep pushing to achieve more success together!
— ??? | Zhou Guanyu ???? (@ZhouGuanyu24) September 14, 2023
HOME RACE HERE I COME ????! #TeamZHOU pic.twitter.com/nCxwH5EKYA
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, a team representative, said Alfa Romeo looks forward to building with its group of drivers.
"The decision to continue our journey with our driver line-up unchanged is testament to the investment we have made in our project. Nothing in Formula One changes overnight, and we have taken a conscious decision to focus on stability and to keep building our team up together," he said.