£30k-a-week Formula 1 driver would ‘already be out’ if his team had their own Kimi Antonelli

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When Haas announced that Oliver Bearman would be joining the team for the 2025 season, it signalled that after the first summer in F1 history when no drivers dropped off the grid change would be coming next year.

There are a few drivers on the grid who might be hoping that they reach the end of this season, let alone earn another contract for the following campaign.

Sergio Perez is under real pressure to perform at Red Bull, while Logan Sargeant could be replaced by another current driver during the summer break.

Speaking on The Race Podcast, journalists Ben Anderson and Edd Straw were discussing the future of another driver who’s in a precarious position in the driver market.

One team that look set to go through a complete change of their driver line-up in 2025 is Sauber.

They’ve already signed Nico Hulkenberg and are surveying the driver’s market to see who they could bring in alongside the German.

Valtteri Bottas is the favourite to join Williams although no formal contract has been signed.

It leaves Zhou Guanyu in a precarious position halfway through his first Formula 1 campaign.

Anderson has suggested that the £30,000-a-week might have already been replaced by Sauber at this stage if they had enough trust in one of their academy drivers.

However, Straw was quick to point out the commercial benefits of having a driver like Zhou in the team.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu’s life outside F1 from height to net worth

Zhou Guanyu would have been replaced by Sauber if they their own Kimi Antonelli

Asked why Zhou isn’t in the conversation to be replaced like Logan Sargeant is, Anderson said: “I think mainly because there isn’t a kind of [Kimi] Antonelli-shaped elephant in the room.

“If Sauber had more faith in Theo Pourchaire, I think Zhou [Guanyu] would already be out of a drive if there was somebody waiting in the wings that they could blood in, they would do it.

“From a performance point of view, yeah, he should be in that kind of conversation.

Asked if Zhou brings more money than Sargeant to Sauber, Edd Straw added: “There’s a real commercial benefit to Zhou’s deal, it’s a little bit more straightforward with some money connections.

“Lots of companies have sponsored that team trying to break into China and that kind of thing.

“There’s a few Chinese companies but it’s actually more about companies from the rest of the world trying to get a foothold in China whereas Sargeant doesn’t actually bring a great deal.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

Does Zhou Guanyu have a chance of staying on the F1 grid in 2025?

The answer to whether Zhou will still be in Formula 1 next year is that it looks very unlikely at this stage.

He appears to be down the pecking order to retain his Sauber seat, with Audi team principal Andreas Seidl eyeing two rookies as potential options.

Zhou would accept a reserve driver role if he was promised a future seat on the grid, although that would be a tough step back to take.

He has got serious commercial backing and there was one where Zhou would like he wanted to return to Alpine after previously being in Renault’s driver academy.

Unfortunately, favourites for each of the remaining seats are emerging and Zhou doesn’t appear to be at the top of anyone’s list.

It’s also a blow for Theo Pourchaire that despite being a Formula 2 champion, Sauber never thought he would an upgrade on the Chinese driver who has just 12 points in his F1 career.