Guanyu Zhou's promotion into F1 has created a buzz around the paddock and the community. Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso believes it is not only great for the sport, but for China as well.

Shortly after the departure of Antonio Giovinazzi, it was announced on Tuesday that Zhou was set to become Valtteri Bottas' new teammate at Alfa Romeo for the 2022-2023 Formula 1 season. This move hands Zhou the title of becoming the first-ever full-time Chinese F1 driver in the history of the sport.

Along with the amazing feat for his country, Zhou already has some F1 experience under his belt. Earlier this season, the Alpine development driver ran a full practice session using Alonso's car at the Austrian Grand Prix. Additionally, Alonso mentioned that Zhou executed the practice session ‘perfectly'. The two-time world champion stresses that Zhou's promotion is exciting for both the sport and for his home country as well.

Via Formula 1:

“We have a good relationship, as I said, happy for him with this opportunity. In the same way,” continued Alonso, “Antonio is stepping out, which is always how it works in this sport but it’s good for Formula 1 in general, I think For China, for Zhou. We are all looking forward to racing with him and welcoming him as best as possible,” he concluded.

With that said, it's definitely great to see that Zhou has the backing of an F1 legend in Alonso, but time will tell if he can prove to the world that promoting him to F1 was the right decision.