46-race driver told he’s unlikely to be staying on the Formula 1 grid in 2025

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The Formula 1 grid in 2025 is expected to look very different to this season and Zhou Guanyu might be struggling to find a seat at this rate.

The Chinese driver has competed in 46 races and counting since his debut in 2022 but has struggled to make a real impression at Sauber.

Speaking on The Race Podcast, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm believes the 24-year-old is in danger of being let go ahead of Audi’s full takeover of the team in 2026.

Zhou unlikely to be on the Formula 1 grid in 2025

It’s been another tough start to the season for the newly-named Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.

After only finishing above Haas in the Constructors’ Championship in 2023, they’re already a point behind last year’s rivals thanks to Nico Hulkenberg’s 10^th-place finish in Saudi Arabia.

Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were the final two classified finishers in Jeddah, with Zhou the latest victim of Sauber’s disastrous pit stops.

A wheel nut issue ruined Bottas’s race in Bahrain when Zhou came home in a valiant 11^th, although some way back from the drivers in the top five teams.

However, it says a lot about Zhou’s Formula 1 career that his display during the opening race of this year is one of his highlights and one of the reasons why he might not be on the grid in 2025.

Audi have committed to a 100% takeover of Sauber before the start of the 2026 season.

As a new works team, they will likely be able to attract a higher calibre of drivers.

David Coulthard believes Carlos Sainz might end up with the German manufacturer, while Eddie Jordan has made a much more outlandish claim.

Zhou fighting for his F1 future

Talking about the 24-year-old, Mitchell-Malm said: “Objectively, I like Zhou [Guanyu], I think he has had good moments in F1, probably slightly better moments than some people expected he would be capable of.

“But I don’t see him on the grid beyond this season.

“I think it would have to be some circumstances that freed up a seat that for whatever reason his combination of factors make him a really good candidate for elsewhere.

“I don’t see why as Audi is gearing up for 2026, I don’t see why you would keep Zhou.”

Zhou and Bottas are both facing a fight to keep their seats at Sauber for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The Finn has admitted that his ideal next step in the sport is to sign a contract that will keep him at Audi.

However, there are potentially two drivers ahead of him in their thinking at this stage of proceedings.