Ahead of the 2024 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu spoke about his team’s decision to drop both him and his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, from their 2025 line-up, as well as the possibility of joining Ferrari in the future as a reserve driver.
Zhou, whose F1 future has been at risk since the Hinwill-based team confirmed their signing of Nico Hülkenberg for 2025 onward, also discussed his future in the sport.
You know something’s coming
Despite his disappointment at losing his seat, Zhou admitted that he was not surprised by the outcome. He said that while he had had “not bad” conversations with Mattia Binotto, Sauber’s COO and CTO, the discussions had not been going in a favourable direction. However, he admitted being surprised by the team’s decision to drop Bottas and himself.
“I mean, things [were] not happening the way I wanted it to be and I [saw] this kind of coming.
“Obviously, I still had this not-bad conversation with Mattia over the past weeks before the announcement. But yeah, once things keep getting delayed and you know something’s coming.”
“And then, for myself, I’m a little bit shocked both of the drivers didn’t get picked. And obviously, they have their own kind of view on that.”
Kind of a relief
Zhou added that while he would have loved to have a seat for the upcoming season, he was relieved to be able to take at least a year away from driving in the sport. He highlighted that he had been struggling with the car, especially in the second half of the season, and admitted that this had affected his confidence.
“And for me, it’s a little bit as much as I love to stay on the grid, it’s kind of a relief after the season I had, the second part of the season.
“Because I’ve been struggling a lot since with the car together with myself, confident over one lap and then not having the upgrades over the many races.
“So, I think it’s a good time for me to take a year not on the grid.”
However, Zhou stated that he hoped that he would be able to return to the sport in the future.
“And hopefully, I still can stand a chance coming back because that’s the key.”
A brave choice
When asked if he was surprised at the team’s decision to sign the inexperienced Gabriel Bortoleto over more experienced drivers, Zhou replied, “Yeah.”
Despite his surprise at Sauber’s decision, Zhou admitted that the team’s decision was not unlike those of other teams.
“It’s just how this year, you know, a lot of rookies are coming for next season. And obviously, some of the rookies showed potential, some of them.
“But yeah, there’s a lot of rookies, never see that.”
He described Sauber’s decision to sign Bortoleto over him, or Bottas as “a brave choice”. However, he stated that he would not comment further on the decision.
“But then also when you, I think, [they picked someone over] me or especially, Valtteri, I just feel like, yes, it’s a brave choice.
“But they have their own opinion. So yeah, I’m not commenting too much on that.
“But yeah, it’s all good.”
There’s a lot of different reasons
Zhou stated that he would not go into much detail on the team’s decision against retaining him. However, he claimed that the team, and especially Binotto, had acknowledged his progress despite the car’s limitations. He said that they, ultimately, had opted against re-signing him due to “a lot of different reasons.”
“I mean, yeah, I can’t go too much in detail.
“But for them, they just said, you know, especially for Mattia, he [saw] the kind of progress I was able to do and the situation I was, you know, able to outcome getting a bit better, especially when he joined the team. I really feel that it’s getting better, the whole group, a bunch of people.
“But yeah, they just said there’s a lot of different reasons that they, in the end, couldn’t take me.
“Obviously, yeah, then it’s quite clear. You know, I guess it’s not only just him making the decision. There’s a lot of people on the management group. And yeah, I’m not going to ask too much for the reasons.”
He again stated that the news brought him a “little bit of relief” and added that he would focus on “giving it [his] all” for the season’s remaining three races.
“But I’m just finally get a little bit of relief on the shoulder, just kind of give it all for the last three races, see what I got, and then, yeah, to see what’s the next chapter.”
The next chapter
Zhou identified his desire to stay in F1 as a third driver. While he claimed that he had been in discussion with several teams and had several options, he admitted that he had not yet decided where he would spend the next year of his career.
“To stay in F1, [a] reserve role. So, it will be a third driver role.
“But I don’t know where to go yet. I don’t have any decided which decision to make.
“We already spoke to some teams already before the announcement release. But then after the announcement, there’s a few other teams [who] approached us.
“So quite a few options, good options that I can see my future with.”
However, he stated that he was in “no rush” to decide where he would spend his immediate future, but highlighted his desire to go to a team that would facilitate his continued growth as a driver.
“But for me, I feel like I’m in a position that no rush to making that decision because I need to make sure I’m in a team that can give me a chance, maybe having a seat back, and then also in a team that I can continue to grow as a driver.”
He added: “So we need to take a bit more time. It won’t be decided in the next month.”
A return to Ferrari?
The Chinese driver, who was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy between 2014 and 2018, was asked about rumours linking him to the Italian team.
While Zhou admitted that Scuderia Ferrari had shown interest in signing him as a reserve driver, he stated that he was in discussions over the matter.
He reiterated that he had several options, adding that he did not have a preferred team among those with which he was in discussions.
“Yeah, I mean, everybody loves to be driving for red, especially for the race seat.
“But yeah, for the reserve, clearly… no, they show some interest. So we are discussing about it.
“And there’s other options as well. So, there’s no, let’s say, one team or the others, I’d probably say, right this position, I prefer [to join].
He re-stated his desire to be in a competitive team where he could continue to develop as a driver, despite being in a reserve role, and where he would have opportunities to drive or work on the development of the car.
“But I just wanted to make sure I’m in a team that they have a good or competitive car that I can continue to learn and continue to learn for myself, from the drivers, from the team perspective, and also trying to get me out there, doing some testing and taking the reserves out to working on the development as well.”
A difficult season
Zhou, who currently sits 21st in the World Drivers’ Championship standings with zero points, was asked whether he believed that he had a fair opportunity to demonstrate his abilities as an F1 driver.
“Probably not,” the Sauber driver replied, acknowledging that it had been a difficult season despite him having tried to “give it [his] all.”
He stated that the 2024 season had been more difficult than either of his previous two seasons in F1, adding that while he had tried to work hard, he had not had much confidence “pushing” the car. He stated that the car had not suited his driving style, and highlighted that he had especially struggled during qualifying.
“It’s been a tough, tough season.
“Like I said, I tried to give it all, but it’s been really difficult, more than last year, even more than my first year.
“I gave it all. I tried to work as hard as I could. But the qualified pace, it’s been off. I just don’t have the confidence pushing the car. It’s difficult to find the real limits.
“With this new concept we have this season, it just seems to be with my driving style, I need to sacrifice a lot. The race graph is there, but the qualifying certainly is not.”
A rollercoaster of an experience
Upon reflection, Zhou described his time in F1 as “a rollercoaster”, but reiterated that he was grateful to have had the opportunity to compete in the sport for three seasons.
“Well, it’s a rollercoaster.
“Because I’m firstly grateful to have the opportunity [to] stay here for the years I’ve [done]. So [Bottas] got a lot more there.”
Despite finishing the season 18th in the WDC standings, he described his first year, 2022, as having been very successful, though he admitted that his performance had been compromised by the many technical issues that he had experienced.
“In another way, I think the first year has been very successful, having a very competitive car, but then quite a lot of technical issues.”
He also looked positively on his second year in F1, 2023, where, despite again finishing 18th, he matched his teammate Bottas on points.
“But then second year, I think it was the year that I gave everything I had and was able to match Valtteri.”
A disappointing 2024 season
He claimed that his performance in 2023 had left him optimistic for the 2024 season. He added that he was disappointed with how his season had turned out, especially as he had aimed to improve his performance.
“And I was thinking, excitement for this year. I tried to be the same or even better than him, but clearly it went in the complete opposite direction of what I wanted to do.
“So, it’s been up and down,” he summarised.
“Some tough moments, some big crashes, but also some great times racing back home finally this season.
“So I’m just grateful for the time, but for me, it’s just quite a lot of pressures, especially this season.
“Now is a good time that I finally relieve all that and just try to enjoy those three races.”
Tricky C44 did not suit driving style
When asked what aspects of the C44 did not suit his driving style, Zhou identified its sensitivity. He described himself as having a “more aggressive” driving style and explained that the “feedback” produced as a result of this made the car “tricky” for him to manoeuvre.
“It’s very sensitive. [I have] a little bit more aggressive driving style. So, every little movement I do on the steering wheel, on pedals, it just became a bigger, let’s say, feedback. It’s inverted into car balance.
“So, the car is tricky [and] then you need to be actually smooth, which I think Valtteri is very good at over the years, but for me, I’m just a little bit struggling more and more.”
Racing outside F1
Zhou also spoke about pursuing racing opportunities outside of F1. While he admitted that he had had offers from other series, he stated that he was not seriously considering them. He stated that he wanted to stay in F1 as he believed that there would be potential opportunities for the 2026 season onwards.
“At the moment, no. Because I had offers, like I said, interest from other series, but at the moment I still want to be staying here because I do feel next year with a lot of rookies joining the team, there’s a lot of opportunities that could happen for 2026 onwards.
“So for me, I still want to stay here. It won’t be a long period. I try to stay on reserve role before I enter another series, but I do still try to do as much as I possibly could and hopefully waiting for a good opportunity to come back.”
However, the Chinese driver did admit that he would be willing to pursue other opportunities at a later point if he was able to return to a more active role in F1.
“If not, then I’m thinking of other things. Some series attract me, but I just feel at this period of my racing career, I still want to give it a shot more in this paddock.”
A return to the paddock in 2025
Zhou confirmed that he expected to remain in the paddock for 2025, though he would not confirm with which team.
“I would say, yeah. I would say I will be… You will see me in the paddock.
“Which colour? I don’t know. So I leave that TBC.”
He did, however, reiterate his priority of working with a team that would give him driving opportunities, particularly through testing sessions.
“I think, firstly, it’s going to be if there’s a chance to step into the race car, by any chance, [I] will be the priority for the team. That’s very important.”
“And also, I think the other thing is that I would love to not just be sitting around doing simulator. I would love to do some test days like a lot of teams are doing.”
While he acknowledged that there would be few opportunities for him to get behind the wheel of a car, he explained that he wanted the experience to maintain his skills and fitness as he would not be competing in another series.
“That’s why we need to speak more into details because obviously, I don’t want to do extremely many, a lot of days, but I do want to be still driving a car because obviously, I’m not doing other series.
“And I still want to have my body fit for racing, for this Formula 1. So that’s the priority.”
Hopefully, I find the place I want to be
He stated that he believed that he had a good chance of finding a team that would allow him to meet these goals. This, he identified, was due to there being few “experienced drivers” actively looking for an F1 seat.
“The good side of things, I guess, is not a lot of experienced drivers are out of the seats. There’s only a few. So, some of them are not racing F1 or doing something else. So, I think the chances, that’s why it’s very high for me.
“And just hopefully I find the place I want to be and hopefully get a chance to finally come back.”
