Young Chinese speedster thrilled after earning practice drive for this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix

Zhou Guanyu will take another major step toward becoming China's first-ever Formula 1 driver when he makes his F1 practice-session debut at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

The Alpine team announced on Monday that its highly touted academy star and test driver will take the wheel of Fernando Alonso's A521 car for Friday's one-hour free practice, the prelude to qualifying and Sunday's race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

"I'm very excited to finally have a chance to show my skills at an F1 grand prix. It's a very hard-earned opportunity," Zhou told China Daily in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

"A major reason of course is the three-year cooperation with Alpine. They have witnessed my growth and improvement, so they are confident in me and have given me the chance. Another reason is that I'm leading the F2 championship so far this season."

Zhou began his third F2 campaign by winning the feature race at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir in March. Two months later, the UNI-Virtuosi driver won the first round of the sprint race at the iconic Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo before finishing fifth in the feature race in May. He now sits proudly atop the F2 driver standings on 78 points.

Zhou is well aware of the huge significance of Friday's drive, and is determined to grab the chance with both hands.

"Driving an F1 car is very different from sitting behind the wheel in F2.The downforce of F1 is much stronger, so it's a lot faster around the corners. Also, F1 has power-assisted steering, which is very different for F2 drivers to control," Zhou explained.

"I need time to adjust, but I have prepared very comprehensively. Apart from studying related data and running the simulator, I've also had quality physical training. But I have to admit, I'm not very familiar with this year's Alpine car－after all, this will be my first experience.

"The simulator, normally, has about 30 to 40 percent difference from the real car. I have great communication with the engineers, who I have learned a lot from."

Alpine has been highly impressed by Zhou's rapid rise on the track, with the team's CEO, Laurent Rossi, backing the young speedster to show his F1 potential on Friday.

"The challenge for young drivers to get into F1 is incredibly hard, and we are proud to support upcoming talent on this road," said Rossi.

"In his role as test driver, Guanyu has participated in test and simulator sessions, so running a free practice in a current car is a logical and important step for one of our academy's brightest stars.

"This experience will greatly help him as he makes very solid progress toward the ultimate target that constitutes a full-time F1 seat."

Mia Sharizman, Alpine's academy director, hailed the hard work Zhou has put in to get to this point in his career, adding: "The fact that he is now leading the Formula 2 championship is proof of this hard work and dedication, and we are all looking forward to seeing him in a Formula 1 car this weekend."

But while the adrenalin is rushing for this weekend, Zhou is also keen not to take his foot off the gas in F2.A 13th-place finish in the feature race at Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan raised concerns about his car's stability for the remainder of the season. Zhou is hopeful that technical issues won't scupper his title push. "The problem that occurred in the last round was very clear. Due to the car's setup, our tail speed was not ideal, especially on the longer circuits. And there were some setup problems around the corners," Zhou told China Daily.

"But we are confident in the coming races. Back on the regular tracks, our team is very competitive. Now I'm still leading the driver standings, so it's a case of so far so good.

"Actually, I was not that familiar with the circuits of the first three rounds, such as the Monaco street circuit. And I still ended up winning, which boosted my confidence a lot. This season's drivers are all very competitive, so I cannot make any mistakes and need to have consistency to deliver more podium finishes."

Zhou has been on the fast-track to success since his rookie F2 season in 2019, when he produced an encouraging seventh-place finish.

His reputation continued to grow in 2020 with six podium finishes and a breakthrough pole-to-flag sprint race victory in Russia, en route to a sixth-place finish in the overall standings.

Right now, Zhou is more confident than ever in achieving his dream of a full-time F1 drive.

"To have the chance of participating in an F1 grand prix is just a start for me. My dream is not just to run the practice session, I want to become an official F1 driver," he said.

"To achieve this dream, I need to have great results in this F2 season, and I don't want to have any regrets. Then, let's just see if there are good opportunities. There are only limited spots in F1, but I'm confident in myself."