Renault development driver Guan Yu Zhou is set to carry out private tests in the squad’s 2017-spec Formula 1 car as part of his programme with the team.
Zhou, 19, has joined Renault’s junior operation, having previously been affiliated with Ferrari, and is the only member of the scheme to hold a direct role with the Formula 1 team.
Renault has previously run its test and development drivers in two-year old cars, with Sergey Sirotkin, Artem Markelov and Jack Aitken carrying out laps in older machinery in recent seasons.
Markelov and Aitken both carried out running in the R.S.16 last year that led to seat time in its R.S.18 across test sessions and, for Markelov, an FP1 outing on home soil in Russia.
Renault is in need of a young driver to fill its in-season test quota and, with Markelov and Aitken having departed, Zhou could fit the bill.
Zhou is scheduled to be only the second Chinese driver in history to sample Formula 1 machinery, following on from Ma Qing Hua’s brief outings for HRT and Caterham across 2012/13.
Renault has long eyed China as a key market for its automotive industry while the junior scheme’s aim is to eventually promote a driver to the manufacturer’s Formula 1 team.
“I’m honoured to be the Development Driver and there are a lot of people in China who are very excited,” said Zhou, who will undertake simulator work at Enstone.
“I’m trying to work as hard as I can to reach my goals and try to make my country and Renault proud.”
Zhou’s full programme will be in Formula 2 with the UNI-Virtuosi squad that has taken the entry previously held by Russian Time.
Renault has not appointed a test and reserve driver for 2019.
Fellow Formula 2 racer Anthoine Hubert, Formula 3 debutants Max Fewtrell and Christian Lundgaard, and Formula Renault racers Victor Martins and Caio Collet.
