北京時間2021年11月16日下午，阿爾法羅密歐車隊官宣，中國車手周冠宇正式加盟，將作為正賽車手征戰下賽季一級方程式（F1）錦標賽。

由此，

22歲的周冠宇

成為首位征戰F1正賽的中國車手，創下新的歷史。

據悉，周冠宇將與瓦爾特里-博塔斯並肩作戰，組成一個極具競爭力的陣容。

周冠宇表示，自己從小就夢想在熱愛的運動中攀登高峰，能在阿爾法羅密歐ORLEN車隊開啟F1職業生涯是一件很榮幸的事情，自己可以說夢想成真。

“我知道很多人對我寄予厚望，我將一如既往地把這作為動力，更加努力讓自己變得更好，爭取獲得更多的成績。”

Formula 1 will embrace its first Chinese racer， Zhou Guanyu， who will drive for Alfa Romeo Racing in 2022。

“Alfa Romeo Racing will have a boost of talent and youthful enthusiasm as Zhou Guanyu joins the team as race driver for the 2022 season。 The Chinese youngster， a multiple race winner in the F2 Championship， will make his F1 debut as he lines up on the grid for next season‘s opener in Bahrain，” the team said in a statement released on Tuesday。

Zhou will race alongside teammate Valtteri Bottas， the former Mercedes racer who have clinched multiple podium prizes。

“I dreamed from a young age of climbing as high as I can in a sport that I am passionate about and now the dream has come true。 It’s a privilege for me to start my F1 racing career with an iconic team， a team that has introduced so many young talent to F1 in the past，” Zhou said。

“Now the dream is reality， I feel well prepared for the immense challenge of F1， the pinnacle of my sport， alongside a proven， world-class talent in Valtteri Bottas，” he continued。

“Next year the target will be to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible。 To be the first-ever Chinese driver in F1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history。 I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and， as ever， I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more。”

Meanwhile， Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing Frederic Vasseur said， “It is a pleasure to welcome Zhou Guanyu to Alfa Romeo Racing。 He is a very talented driver， as his results in F2 have shown， and we are looking forward to helping his talent flourish even more in F1。”

“We are proud of our line-up for 2022 and we are confident Zhou will form a very successful partnership with Valtteri。 We are also looking forward to welcoming all the new Chinese fans who will join the team。”

Stefano Domenicali， CEO of F1 Group， said， “The news Zhou Guanyu will be in F1 next season is fantastic for the sport and the millions of passionate Chinese fans who now have a home hero to cheer all year long。 The pyramid in F2 is working and promoting talent to the topflight of motorsport。 Zhou is an incredible talent， who will be a fantastic addition to the amazing grid we have， and he will entertain and keep all our Chinese fans excited in 2022。”

Born and raised in Shanghai， the 22-year-old Chinese racer is currently an F2 racer with UNI-Virtuosi Racing and a test driver for Alpine F1 Team。

Having experienced success at all levels of racing in his career， Zhou developed his interest in driving as a karting racer in 2010 when then 11-year-old finished 14th during the Kartmasters British Grand Prix。

In 2015， Zhou started his racing career with Prema Racing and won the second prize during the Italian F4 Championship， before racking up race victories in Euro F3 and F2， feeder series for F1。

In 2019， Zhou was the first Chinese racer to make the F2 podium with a third finish at the feature race in Barcelona in May。

2021， in particular， has been a breakthrough year for Zhou， who is currently ranking second in the F2 drivers‘ standings and is ready to mount a challenge for the title in the season’s final two events in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi， and future races in F1。