Ferrari is “really interested in me” for 2025 F1 season

Sauber racer Zhou Guanyu says Ferrari is “really interested” in hiring him as a reserve driver, being a free agent for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The future Audi team has decided to replace both Zhou and his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, hiring veteran Nico Hulkenberg and F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto to race the Swiss cars next year.

A Ferrari Driver Academy member from 2014 to 2018 before he moved to the Alpine programme, Zhou says a return to Maranello as an F1 reserve driver is now on the cards.

“We’re talking to several teams and, of course, Ferrari remains one of the teams really interested in me,” the Chinese racer said.

“We need to see, obviously there’s a lot of things coming up with the next few weekends for us to make a decision, but it’s clear we are going through all the options we have and seeing where we are.

“From my side, I don’t want to commit to the future just yet because I want to make sure everything is set down and is clear, and have a massive commitment to the next project.

“Hopefully something will be happening and decided soon. I think somewhere around the next few weeks I will have a clear idea.”

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

2024 has been Zhou’s toughest F1 season by far, with the Sauber driver failing to score points – like Bottas – at the wheel of what has overall been the slowest car in the field.

Although he has been generally outperformed by Bottas, Zhou was comprehensively more competitive in Las Vegas, where he outqualified the Finn for the third time in 27 sessions this year (sprint qualifying included) and raced to 13th when his elder finished just 18th.

Zhou explains he made the most of the C44’s new floor and updated diffuser on the high-speed street track.

“I think that’s the best we’ve been in a while, since the summer,” he said. “I’m just really happy the upgrade is working and the team’s given me a car [with which] I can finally fight for what I know [I’m capable of].

“The confidence is back, which is the main topic I’m extremely happy with, and it’s been a very positive weekend in terms of that. Today’s race was clean, and not a lot happening ahead, so we can’t really [do] much more than where we were.

“It’s been a bit of a disappointing season, especially the second part, not having the upgrades that we wanted to have and always having the old package,” Zhou admitted. “That forced me back a little bit at what was an important time for my future.

“But, in another way, I’m very relieved and looking forward to the next two races together with the next chapter.”