Zhou Guanyu lost his seat at Sauber following the 2024 Formula 1 season, as the team added Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto as their drivers for the 2025 season and beyond.
But the Chinese driver will still be in the paddock this upcoming season.
Ferrari announced their reserve drivers for the upcoming season on Wednesday, pairing current reserve Antonio Giovinazzi with Zhou. This is a homecoming for Zhou, who was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2015 to 2018 while competing in the F4 and F3 ranks.
After a strong F2 season in 2021, finishing third in the Drivers’ Championship, Zhou was promoted to a full-time seat with Alfa Romeo for the 2022 F1 season. He drove three seasons with the team — the first two under the Alfa Romeo branding and then under the Sauber branding in 2024 — scoring points in each campaign.
Sauber managed to score just four points in 2024, all four coming from Zhou when he finished eighth in the Qatar Grand Prix.
Last year also saw Zhou finally get a chance to drive in his home race, as the Chinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a post from the team on social media, Zhou called the move a “great honor:”
As noted alongside him will be Giovinazzi, who returns to reserve duties for Ferrari for the third consecutive season. Giovinazzi also drives for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship, and was part of the team that secured a win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. That win was notable as it marked Ferrari’s return to the historic event, 50 years after their last entry back in 1973.
