Zhou Guanyu: I'll be in the F1 paddock in 2025!

First Chinese driver. First Grand Prix. First points. Zhou Guanyu got off to a promising start in his Formula One career in 2022. However, the big breakthrough failed to materialise. After three years with Sauber, his F1 career will end at the end of the 2024 season – at least for the time being, the Chinese driver hopes. He sees chances of a comeback in the future.

‘I want to stay in F1, in a back-up role, but I don't know exactly where I'll go yet,’ Zhou said in Las Vegas. The 25-year-old already has a concrete idea of what his future job should look like. ’I want to be the priority if there's a chance to get into the race car. That's very important.’

Such an opportunity could tip the scales in favour of a possible comeback. Nico Hülkenberg showed how it's done in the age of coronavirus. He took over a cockpit at Racing Point/ Aston Martin several times and was able to advertise himself. In 2023, he replaced Mick Schumacher at Haas – and his reserve appearances probably didn't hurt in the process.

Another of Zhou's aspirations: ‘I don't just want to sit around and do simulator work. I would like to take part in test days. Not an extremely large number, but I want to drive cars and keep my body fit for Formula 1.’ Specifically, he means ‘Tests of Previous Cars’ (TPC). During these, teams give their drivers the opportunity to drive laps in F1 cars that are at least two years old. This is how Zhou was prepared for the premier class before joining Renault/Alpine in F1.

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Whether he will be the third man in a racing team next year is not up for debate for Zhou Guanyu: ‘You will see me in the paddock,’ he says. However, it is not yet clear which team he will be driving for, although speculation about interest from Ferrari has long been more than just a rumour.

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‘They are showing interest and we are talking about it,’ the (still) Sauber driver announced in Las Vegas, without closing the door to other possibilities: “There are other options as well. We were already talking to some teams before the confirmation (from Gabriel Bortoleto). After that, other teams approached us,” he elaborated.

A brief aside: if Zhou were to sign with the Scuderia, it would not be the first time that he had worn Ferrari red. From 2014 to 2018, he was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy until he joined the Renault junior squad.

‘I'm in no rush to make that decision,’ he emphasised. ’I want to make sure that I'm in a team that can give me a chance to maybe get a seat and grow as a driver.’

Zhou made his training debut with Alpine in 2021, photo: LAT Images

However, the man from Shanghai rules out working in another racing series alongside his role as a reserve driver: ‘I've had offers from other racing series, but for now I want to stay here.’

This attitude comes with a certain calculation: ’I think next year could see a lot of rookies and a lot of opportunities for 2026 and beyond. Hopefully I'll get another chance to come back. If not, I'll think about other series.’

After the Audi line-up of Nico Hülkenberg was already in the bag in April, the search for a suitable second driver for the Hinwil-based team was an odyssey throughout the entire season. It was only at the beginning of November that the future factory team's decision was made in favour of Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto. You can find out more about this in this video:

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You might think that Zhou would be disillusioned, but far from it: ‘As much as I would have liked to stay on the grid, after the season I've had, it's a relief,’ he admits. ‘In the second half, I had a lot of problems with the car, with myself and with my confidence over a lap.’ To make matters worse, he sometimes only received updates to his C44 with a delay.

Ahead of the final three races of the season, Sauber has not scored a single championship point and is in last place in the constructor world championship. Zhou's eleventh place finish in the season opener is still his best result. ‘Now is a good time to finally let go of all that and enjoy the three remaining races.’