Alpine are the latest Formula 1 team to confirm that they will have at least one new driver representing the manufacturer in 2025.
Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of the season after five years with the French outfit.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, commentator David Croft shared his thoughts on who could replace the one-time race winner.
Several drivers know that they need to find a new seat for next season with moves happening up and down the paddock.
Although Alpine aren’t having the best campaign, they’re still a works team and have shown in the past few seasons that they can regularly compete for points.
That may appeal to some drivers and Croft has suggested that Zhou Guanyu might be an option for Alpine in 2025.
He may have to sweeten the deal to make a move happen and his backers could potentially invest in the French team in order to earn a contract.
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David Croft thinks Zhou Guanyu’s backers could invest in Alpine to earn 2025 seat
Zhou Guanyu is now in his third season in Formula 1 but has failed to stand out from the crowd after 52 Grand Prix.
Formula 1’s first full-time Chinese driver only has 12 career points to his name and is yet to get off the mark in 2024.
That’s not entirely Zhou’s fault as the Sauber has proven to be the slowest car on the grid with more experienced teammate Valtteri Bottas also struggling.
Zhou has come the closest to scoring points for Sauber, finishing 11 at the season opener in Bahrain and 9 in the Sprint Race at his home Grand Prix in China.
However, Bottas may argue that he would have scored points at the start of the campaign were it not for the team’s pit-stop woes.
Sauber will become Audi at the end of the 2025 season but the German manufacturer have already taken over the decision-making process when it comes to their driver line-up.
Nico Hulkenberg is already signed up for next year and Audi don’t appear to be keen on retaining Bottas or Zhou.
Both drivers are exploring their options on the grid and Croft believes that if Zhou’s backers want to invest in Alpine then that could be enough to earn him Esteban Ocon’s vacant seat.
Zhou already knows that team well having come through Renault’s driver academy before signing for Sauber.
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Talking about Alpine, Croft said: “They need investment, they need investment!
“And whilst they are a works team, I don’t think they receive similar levels of investment as say, Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes do.
“Where’s that investment coming from? Now, there’s speculation that Zhou Guanyu and his backers might be willing to invest.
“Zhou was a former Renault academy driver of course so it’s going back to the stable that got him into F1 in the first place.
“If someone was prepared, say Zhou Guanyu and his backers were prepared to take a 30% stake in Alpine, invest money into the facilities at Enstone and to future staff of which they have lost a lot of top end staff in the past 12 months.
“Then that might be kind of the zenith that the team needs, that might be the turnaround that Alpine are looking for.”
Which drivers are Alpine looking at to replace Esteban Ocon?
With several rookies expected to join the Formula 1 grid in 2025, it means there’s a surplus of drivers looking for race seats.
That puts Alpine in a strong position as they look at options who could potentially replace Esteban Ocon.
Reserve driver Jack Doohan is a serious contender for Alpine after impressing with his work behind the scenes for the team.
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin would like to sign Carlos Sainz but that looks like a long shot at this stage of negotiations.
Mick Schumacher has also been touted as an option for Alpine, while Guenther Steiner has told the French manufacturer to move for Yuki Tsunoda.
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