24-year-old F1 driver disappointed with 2023 season but admits new car is ‘really exciting’

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Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu has admitted that the 2023 Formula 1 season has been a real struggle for the team.

Zhou was chatting to Motorsport Week off the back of his second full campaign in the sport.

The 24-year-old is the first Chinese driver and talks about his role in growing the sport’s popularity in his home country.

Zhou Guanyu was educated in Sheffield, giving him a connection to the UK, but if Formula 1 can become a popular sport in China, then it immediately opens up a huge new audience, something they’ve done very successfully in the past few years in the United States.

One thing that’s hindered that progress is the repeated cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix.

F1 will finally be returning to Shanghai in 2024 where it will also host one of six Sprint Races next season.

Zhou will be excited about racing in his home country but admitted that he doesn’t want a repeat of the 2023 season when it was a struggle to compete with the rest of the grid.

He’s scored six points in back-to-back campaigns now but has plenty of hope that things will improve going into next year.

Zhou admits 2023 F1 season was a struggle

Asked about his most recent Formula 1 campaign, Zhou said: “This year it’s been a struggle, especially the second half of the year, we’ve been struggling just in general with the performance of the car.

“So next year we have somewhat quite a big change and a new car which is really exciting.

“[We have] already seen a lot of work going on in the wind tunnel and all that and hopefully we can have a very strong package and then we can fight for not just the back four or the last points positions, but fight in the middle of the midfield, top five.

“That will be exciting as then people can see more of what we can actually do.”

Zhou’s car in 2024 is certainly going to look very different regardless of its performance.

Alfa Romeo will no longer be on the grid with fans awaiting what Sauber will be called next year and what the new car will look like.

The Italian manufacturer did attempt to stay on the grid, but couldn’t strike a deal with another team.

The admission that he’s already seen an improvement in next year’s car will be encouraging considering how poor they were for much of the campaign.

Zhou will be under pressure next year with his contract expiring in 12 months and he can’t afford to struggle like he did in 2023.

Sauber have Theo Pourchaire waiting in the wings off the back of winning Formula 2.

He’s previously aired his frustrations with not having an F1 seat this year and will be working hard to prove he should be on the grid going forward.