Zhou: I feel like there's plenty more I can show to Formula 1

One seat remains to be filled with the Swiss team transforming to Audi's F1 project between now and the beginning of 2026. With Nico Hulkenberg signed from Haas for next season, their two current drivers are vying for that other seat.

Zhou and teammate Valtteri Bottas have not been signed as yet. Two drivers (that we know of) for one seat, which Sauber Audi team boss Mattia Binotto wants filling ASAP.

Bottas is a Grand Prix winner and was an insider during Mercedes's mighty reign of 15 Formula 1 World titles; he knows how World Champion teams work. More so than even Hulkenberg, who's never stood on a podium, and far more so than Zhou or any of the Academy drivers they may be considering.

It will be a surprise if Binotto does not tap into what he has at hand in 35-year-old Bottas and the kind of stability plus knowledge and experience he would bring a new operation, which is what Sauber is morphing into Audi.

On the other hand, Zhou does not pack the experience and even consistent speed of his older teammate but has huge commercial potential, as we saw in China, where he's a shooting star in the making. But is that what Audi needs as they build the team into an F1 championship-winning outfit?

Smart money is that Bottas keeps his job alongside Hulkenberg, with Zhou slotting in as the team's reserve, but the Chinese 25-year-old revealed in an interview with Mail Sport that he thinks otherwise: "I feel like there's plenty more I can show to the paddock, to Formula 1.

"If I don't have a seat, I don't think it's the end... I still have the chance to come back, and I will continue to work hard. Right now, I'm not thinking about what happens next," insists Zhou.

In 60 Grand Prix starts, Zhou has not startled the Formula 1 paddock. Stats show that he has scored 12 points to Bottas' 59 points since they have been teammates at Hinwil. This season, neither have scored in 16 rounds.

Zhou is arguably most famous for surviving a death-defying crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, his Sauber Alfa Romeo flipping and sliding across the track, only the halo saving the driver's life that day.

Since then it's been something of a topsy-turvy time in F1, which Zhou acknowledges: 'In three years, I've experienced what a driver might experience in 10 years. I started with points on debut, then I had four races with technical issues when I could have scored more points—a massive crash in Silverstone.

"Last year P5 in qualifying, which was incredible, and then the Sunday race I couldn't get off-line. It's been more like a rollercoaster ride than anything else. The ups and downs just make you a better driver at the end of the day.

"Hopefully, I can just put things together in the last few races. If I'm not staying, then I'm sure if the chance comes again I can still be better," reckoned Zhou.

This year's Sauber is not helping his or Bottas in their cause to score a point. Zhou continued: "It's been a very challenging season. The first half we actually had a decent pace, but we've had a lot of issues in the pit stops, which damaged a lot of point-scoring opportunities.

"Now, we're on the back foot in terms of the whole package and the car's development, compared to the rest. It's the reality; we have to face it. Of course, you want your future to be settled down, and there's still a seat available in this team, so we're fighting for it."

Zhou is aware that options beyond Sauber are non-existent, as all nine other teams have announced their drivers for 2025: "This time of year, I'm just thinking about each individual race, giving it everything I have, trying to improve the weaknesses. For me at least, it's no different to the previous two years because I've been a driver on an individual-year contract.

"My feeling and mindset haven't really changed a lot for this year, but of course, it's different when you know that you and your teammate both want to have that final seat, and we get on very well together. You try and impress the team, and that's all you can do."

Asked to pinpoint his most memorable day as an F1 driver, Zhou recalled: "It's got to be Shanghai; it's got to be the Chinese Grand Prix. That feeling I had the entire weekend was so different from other tracks.

"It's difficult to have an explanation about how it felt until you actually experience it yourself. The energy, the intensity, was so high for the entire weekend. My dream came true after 20 years, being a kid on the grandstand watching F1.

"You want to impress the people that are there supporting you; you don't want to be at the back of the grid. I was top 10 in sprint qualifying, finished P9 in the sprint race, and then finished 14th after starting further back [on the grid].

"It was a good moment; the crowd was so special; everyone was shouting my name. I never had this feeling in my life. I really dreamt of it, and finally, it happened," declared Zhou.

Now the question is, will he experience it next year as a driver on the grid or on a TV monitor?