Alfa Romeo boss believes Guanyu Zhou can follow in the footsteps of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc during his first season in F1

Alfa Romeo boss Frédéric Vasseur claims rookie Guanyu Zhou can learn from drivers like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the upcoming season. Guanyu will star alongside former Mercedes veteran Valtteri Bottas for 2022.

Vasseur believes Guanyu can follow in the footsteps of the two of his fellow drivers, who have turned out on the highest rung of F1 without spending too long in pre-season practice periods. F1 teams get three days of testing per driver before the season begins. This rule puts rookie drivers at a disadvantage as most of them have probably never entered an F1 car before the testing period.

Having to work mostly with simulators, rookie drivers often struggle to get up to pace in their new machinery when the season starts. Drivers such as Verstappen and Leclerc have, however, proved that freshers can enter the sport and be impressive with the car despite the lack of on-track experience. Vasseur said:

“If you have a look at the last couple of seasons, it seems to work for the young kids. With Max Verstappen, he came into F1 without a large background. With Charles [Leclerc], he did well the first season. With [George] Russell, with [Lando] Norris, they did well in the first season. We have different tools compared to the past with the simulator but I think that, also, the young kids are much more mature today than they were 20 years ago.”

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Max Verstappen won on his debut race for Red Bull

Max Verstappen showed staggering talent and raw speed even before joining F1. Most people, however, claim that the sheer pace of an F1 car is enough to stop most rookies from progressing in the sport. In the Dutchman's case, he won his debut race for Red Bull after spending just one season with its junior team Toro Rosso.

Verstappen won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when both Mercedes cars crashed heading into turn 1. The 24-year-old showed tremendous pace, defending against the likes of veteran driver Kimi Raikkonen trying his best to pass the Red Bull driver.

In taking the top step of the podium, Verstappen became the youngest race winner in history, at just 18 years of age. Speaking about the youngster's amazing feat, Martin Brundle said:

“This must rate highly in terms of the biggest stories in the world of sport. A teenager turns up, handles the pressure with world champions snapping at his heels, barely knows the car, and delivers an absolutely extraordinary performance. His clarity of thought was the most impressive thing of all.”

Max Verstappen is all set to return to the grid with car #1 instead of #33 to try and defend his world title from drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.