As another new face joins the Formula 1 grid in 2025, one current driver is now left searching for his next challenge in motorsport.
Zhou Guanyu will be leaving the F1 grid at the end of the 2024 season, alongside with his teammate Valtteri Bottas as they both make way for Sauber’s all new driver pairing next year.
Nico Hulkenberg signed with the Swiss team back in March on a multi-year deal from Haas, which will see him become an Audi works driver in 2026. Neither Zhou or Bottas were able to convince Sauber to keep them on bosrd beyond this season and opted to sign Gabriel Bortoleto to complete their line-up.
Sauber’s current driver pairing will leave the team after three years. The duo joined the team in 2022, Bottas from Mercedes after spending five years as the number two driver to Lewis Hamilton, while Zhou made the step up from Formula 2 after finishing third in the standings the year prior.
The Chinese driver has struggled to match his teammate over the past three seasons, lacking raw speed over one lap in qualifying and failing to score points regularly.
Zhou Guanyu would be ‘great’ in the World Endurance Championship
Zhou has scored just 12 points in his F1 career so far, with the 25-year-old having only three races left to add to that tally. He scored six points in his debut season in 2022 – while Bottas grabbed 49 – and scored six again in 2023.
This year has been a torrid season for Sauber as neither Zhou nor Bottas have scored points after 21 Grand Prix in 2024.
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With his F1 career coming to an end, Zhou is now left searching for a seat for next year as he explores his options across multiple categories. Speaking on The Fast and the Curious Podcast, Jennie Gow believes that the 25-year-old will end up in the World Endurance Championship.
She thinks that Zhou will be ‘great’ for the series coming in as a Chinese driver with his experience in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Asked where she thought Zhou will go next, Gow replied: “Honestly, don’t know. Probably world endurance.
“A Chinese name with a legacy of F1 and what he’s achieved there, I think would be great in that series.”
Zhou Guanyu says he wants to keep racing in 2025
With limited options available for 2025, it is highly unlikely that Zhou will be on the grid in F1 next year. There is a seat available at RB, but Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto are understood to be the frontrunners.
The Chinese driver is considering moving to a reserve role with an F1 team, with him being previously linked with Alpine. His teammate Bottas looks to be going down the same path as he could be returning to Mercedes as their reserve driver next year.
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Lawrence Barretto says Zhou wants to keep racing and he has multiple options available to him, including Formula E.
The all-electric series has seen many former F1 drivers have great success there, but with only Kiro Race Co yet to confirm their line-up for Season 11, Zhou is unlikely to race in the championship this year.