In so doing so, the 22-year-old becomes China's first driver at the top level of motor racing, providing the championship with a boost the ultimate scale of which we can only guess at. It's no coincidence that the announcement came a few weeks after F1 confirmed that the Chinese GP will return in 2023 after a three-year pandemic hiatus, with a deal that now runs until 2025. Former F1 CEO Chase Carey and his successor Stefano Domenicali have often mentioned China in the same breath as the USA in terms of markets they want to conquer and, with Zhou, F1 now has a chance to do just that. The hope throughout the paddock is that he will have the sort of impact that Max Verstappen has had in the Netherlands, or Sergio Perez in Mexico. "I think for the company, for current sponsors work, for the nine other teams, for F1 in general, it's a huge opportunity," team boss Fred Vasseur tells Motorsport.com. "Huge. I think it's really important that if you want to develop the …