Alonso: The arrival of Zhou Guanyu is a good thing for F1

Fernando Alonso said Zhou Guanyu's chance to play this season was a good thing for both F1 and China.

Zhou Guanyu joined the Alpine Drivers Academy in 2019 and will compete for the first time in F1 for Alfa Romeo in Bahrain next month, and he will be the first Chinese driver to compete in an official F1 race, with his teammate Walteri Bottas, who has transferred from Mercedes.

Two-time F1 world champion Alonso said: "I'm happy for him, he's a good boy and he was still in our driver academy last year, so I have a few days to test with him. Also, last year, when I came back to test the old Renault car, Zhou and I spent a few days in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. So yeah, we had a great relationship. As I said, I'm glad he had this opportunity. ”

Zhou Guanyu replaced Antonio Giovinazzi, who has moved to FE this season, and Alonso also spoke about the Italian's exit.

He said: "Antonio quit F1 and that's always been the way the sport works, but I think it's good for F1 overall, it's good for China and Zhou Guanyu. We are all looking forward to playing against him and welcoming him in the best possible way. ”

Both Zhou Guanyu and Bottas have already made their debuts in the Abu Dhabi end-of-season test in December, with the two set to pre-season test in Spain later this month.