Techeetah have announced the signing of Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu as their development driver.
The eighteen year-old will work with race drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Andre Lotterer in helping to develop the car in the team’s simulator.
He will combine the role with his European Formula 3 duties, where he is set to race for Prema having finished eighth in last year’s championship.
Zhou is also currently part of the Ferrari young driver programme, and said that he was looking forward to gaining experience from his new job.
He said, “I’m very happy to join Techeetah as a Development Driver. Formula E is a really exciting space and it’s great to gain some experience within the formula and to help TECHEETAH with its simulator development.
“I’ll be attending the Paris E-Prix to getfirst-hand experience of the race day and to be able to further aid the development team when we come back to the office.”
Team boss Mark Preston said he was delighted to have Zhou on board, and said that he hoped he would learn a lot from working with drivers as experienced as Lotterer and Vergne.
“As we have limited in-season testing, our development work is of the utmost importance and it’s great to have him onboard in this area,” Preston said.
“Jean-Éric and André are both competing in other series as well as Formula-E this season, so for us to have a talented driver available for simulator sessions is valuable.
“We hope that being around Jean-Éric, André and our engineers will give Zhou some invaluable experience that will help him excel in his career.”
Techeetah also announced that they had attracted a new sponsor to the team ahead of this weekend’s Paris ePrix.
The financial educational platform Financial.org will see their logos appear on the front wing of the car, and it follows the signing of Dragon Inc earlier in the season.
Credit: Techeetah
Speaking about the deal Techeetah Chief Commercial Officer Keith Smout said, “We are incredibly pleased to announce our second primary sponsor this season and would like to extend a warm welcome to Financial.org.
“Techeetah is committed to working with Financial.org to increase their brand awareness and build new business opportunities over the three-year term of the partnership.”
