Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Zhou Guanyu has struggled to match teammate Valtteri Bottas during his third season in Formula 1, which may be a reason why he doesn’t have a seat on the 2025 grid.
It looks like Sauber are going to opt against retaining the Chinese driver for a fourth term in the sport, having failed to score a point throughout this season.
He hasn’t been helped much by what is a pretty poor car, but Bottas has shown glimpses of qualifying and tyre whispering brilliance where Zhou has faltered.
That has hurt him in the races, and taken away some of his opportunities to score points – another thing that the Sauber team have failed to achieve collectively this year.
Zhou Guanyu reveals why his qualifying performances have been poor in 2024
Statistically, Sauber are the worst team in 2024, sitting bottom of the constructors’ standings, but their driver line-up hasn’t been the entirety of their problem.
In the early stages of the season, Sauber were plagued by multiple pit stop issues, which dented their best chances at points all year.
Zhou has been honest in his assessment of his form this year, admitting that he has struggled to adapt over one lap.
READ MORE: ‘Aghast’ F1 driver wanted to talk to the stewards after hearing about Kevin Magnussen’s ban
“Once everything has kind of settled down then we lack some car performance, unfortunately,” he said.
“The car we had this year requires a different driving style which I try to get a better improvement on, but it’s not an easy short-term fix.
“For the one lap, to try to change my driving style is not something that is quite easy to do. But in a race, I’m able to adapt that quite straightforward from the beginning.”
Where is the light at the end of the tunnel for the Sauber team?
The Audi takeover can’t come soon enough for a team that is in desperate need of a fresh look if it is to turn around its form.
With few seats left on the grid for the 2025 season, it looks like Zhou could be forced into a test or reserve driver role if he wants to remain in the sport.
He has shown at stages in his career, some excellent performances, but he has failed to develop into what Sauber hoped he might.
Audi have been searching for his replacement for some time, sharing an interest in drivers such as the recently signed ‘perfect’ Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel.
But there are plenty of other forms of racing such as IndyCar or the World Endurance Championship that Zhou’s talent could succeed in, and he still has plenty of laps left ahead of him at the age of 25.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
