Zhou's F1 dream is green for go

"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.