Zhou Guanyu gets STUCK in the gravel after spinning in tricky Dutch Grand Prix FP3

Zhou, Alfa Romeo, Belgie, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix

Zhou gets STUCK in the gravel after spinning in tricky Dutch Grand Prix FP3

The Chinese driver caused the second accident of the session

Luis Raya

Saturday 26 August 2023 12:04 Updated: 22:48

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Zhou Guanyu spun out of Dutch Grand Prix practice on what proved to be a tricky final practice session at Zandvoort.

15 minutes after Kevin Magnussen had a significant incident during the session, the Chinese driver had an off-track excursion, resulting in the second red flag of the day.

The Alfa Romeo driver was on intermediate tyres and lost control of the rear of his car, unable to rejoin the track. The track, while initially appearing to improve, became more challenging with the arrival of additional rain.

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Many drivers struggled on a wet track with changing conditions, leading to numerous off-track excursions and several red flags. The session resumed shortly after.

Zhou's future in 2024 remains uncertain

There is no confirmation regarding Zhou's prospects for the upcoming season

The Chinese driver, who has accumulated four points so far this season, doesn't have a guaranteed seat in Formula 1 for the 2024 season. Next year, Alfa Romeo will transition to Sauber until Audi enters the category, and Zhou has not yet renewed his contract.

In the event that he doesn't renew, Theo Pourchaire and Felipe Drugovich emerge as the main contenders for this seat, so we'll need to pay attention to developments in the coming weeks.

With this situation, there are only five vacant seats left for the upcoming season, although it is expected that Lewis Hamilton will sign with Mercedes in the coming weeks, reducing the number to four. Thus, there would be one seat at Alfa Romeo, two at AlphaTauri, where nothing is confirmed either, and another at Williams, where Logan Sargeant is expected to be confirmed shortly.