Zhou Guanyu will be a part of Ferrari as considered one of its reserve drivers for the 2025 Components 1 season, taking the function alongside present incumbent Antonio Giovinazzi.
Zhou lately ended a three-year stint as a race driver in F1 with Sauber (beforehand Alfa Romeo), having develop into the primary Chinese language race driver within the F1 historical past.
He scored his first championship level on his debut in Bahrain in 2022, and made his first house debut final yr when F1 returned to China after a five-year hiatus.
After a tough season, the place Zhou scored the one factors for Sauber in 2024 with eighth in Qatar, he and former team-mate Valtteri Bottas had been each left off the grid on the finish of final season.
The Swiss squad, getting ready to its metamorphosis into Audi for 2026, opted for an all-new line-up and has paired German veteran Nico Hulkenberg with newly topped F2 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto.
Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Workforce KICK Sauber C44
Picture by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Photos
Zhou joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2014 whereas nonetheless racing karts and, as a younger driver underneath the Prancing Horse banner, he completed second within the 2015 Italian F4 championship.
After two years in F3, Zhou left the Ferrari Driver Academy to hitch Renault’s youth programme, from the place he accomplished the ultimate step in the direction of F1 with a variety of FP1 drives alongside his F2 obligations.
After parting methods with Sauber on the finish of final yr, Zhou acquired reserve function affords from a variety of high groups – with many searching for a dependable driver to fall again on because the F1 calendar has develop into extra intense in recent times.
Final season, Oliver Bearman stepped in for Carlos Sainz on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and completed seventh after the Spaniard suffered from appendicitis in Jeddah. Later, he changed Kevin Magnussen on two events, scoring factors for Haas in Azerbaijan.
In the meantime, the appointment of Bottas as a reserve driver for Mercedes in 2025 demonstrated the significance of the depth of the ‘bench’ for any groups on the grid as we speak.
Along with Zhou, former F1 driver Giovinazzi will stay on the Ferrari bench this yr, though he’ll nonetheless signify the Scuderia within the World Endurance Championship, which implies that Zhou will share the duties of his alternative with the Italian.
On condition that GM/Cadillac, which is already confirmed to compete in F1 from 2026, will use Ferrari energy items and gearboxes, having the ability to drive a Ferrari F1 automotive will assist improve Zhou’s possibilities of securing a return to grand prix racing subsequent season.
On this article
Jake Boxall-Legge
Components 1
Zhou Guanyu
Ferrari
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