Alfa Romeo hasn’t had a great 2022 season so far. They just haven’t been able to develop a car that can compete for that 4th or 5th position in the Constructors’ Championship. As we are moving towards the conclusion of the season, fans were pretty sure that Zhou Guanyu would have to take the brunt of their failure. But as it turns out, he has been retained for the 2023 season. This came as joyous news for the Valtteri-Zhou bromance fans.
Zhou’s failure to convert chances and challenge his teammate was making it difficult for fans to expect a contract renewal for the Chinese driver. It was a budding bromance for Valtteri after playing second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton for 5 years at Mercedes. But when the news of Zhou’s 1-year contract extension came in, fans breathed a sigh of relief.
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This is what Zhou posted on his official Twitter handle, which drew a laughing reaction from his Fin teammate.
😂
— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) September 28, 2022
One fan reacted with Valtteri’s iconic “Traditions” meme.
bros😎❤️ pic.twitter.com/4Qt0oxkn9C
— bottas is saying traditions (@traditionsbot) September 28, 2022
Another fan reacted to Zhou’s post about how time flew for Bottas and from once hugging Lewis, he now has Zhou to hug.
Valtteri used to give Lewis warm embrace before and now it’s only for Zhou😂😂 #TeamBottas https://t.co/Pkq0Ebwq57
— AngellShen1029 (@poohone) September 29, 2022
One particularly emotional fan reacted to Zhou’s retention news like this:
I live for Valtteri and Zhou's friendship 🥺 pic.twitter.com/5kZocnnPqd
— Prema ❤ (@dailydriverpic) September 28, 2022
Another fan who just caught up on Zhou and Valtteri’s episode on the PitStop podcast reacted.
valtteri and zhou on the pitstop podcast were so 🫶🏻🫶🏻
— rercury in metrograde (@wahiladkiyaar) September 22, 2022
Fans’ questions for Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas
The Alfa Romeo official Twitter handle recently asked fans to post their questions for the two drivers.
Tweet us something you’d like to ask Valtteri and Zhou!
We’ll be looking out for the most creative ones. 😉#SingaporeGP
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) September 28, 2022
The post attracted some really weird questions from fans, but hey, that is what the internet is, right? Some fans wanted Valtteri to open up about his dislike of clothes. Other fans saw this as another opportunity to make the two teammates open up more about their friendship.
Here were the fans’ questions:
How far have @ValtteriBottas and @ZhouGuanyu24 come as teammates and friends since joining the team??? https://t.co/6PV0TUErm6
— Ntk64 (@Ntk641) September 28, 2022
@alfaromeoorlen if it was your last meals on earth what would be your ideal breakfast lunch and dinner? https://t.co/DZkuChUY6O
— Will (@WillThoday) September 28, 2022
if you had to attend a costume party together what would be your couples costume?
— kaley 🏁 (@kayldavenport) September 28, 2022
One fan, building on Zhou Guanyu’s love for bubble tea, asked what their favorite flavor was.
What is Zhou’s go to bubble tea order? And has Valtteri ever tried bubble tea before?
— Max ²²🏎 | YUKI 2023 (@Formula_Max22) September 28, 2022
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has zhou taken valtteri to a bubble tea shop yet?
— em/mitch 🔭 inactive bc of school (@39mrcry) September 28, 2022
It would be interesting to see how the Alfa Romeo drivers react to the questions.
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Alfa Romeo currently sits in the 6th spot with 52 points in total. With six more races to go, it would be an improbable task to cover the 55-point gulf between them and McLaren. Zhou Guanyu in his rookie season hasn’t fared well either. He currently sits in the 17th spot in the Drivers’ Standings, 7 places behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas. He has managed to score only 6 points, as compared to his Finnish teammate, who currently has 46 points.
