Zhou Guanyu has issued a staunch defence of his Formula 1 career, and insists that he is not approaching the end of the road – even if he is dropped by Sauber this year.
The Chinese driver, 25, is one of four on the grid yet to score a point in the 2024 season, and is currently in a desperate battle with team-mate Valtteri Bottas to secure the one remaining seat for next season.
While it is understood that Bottas is the more likely candidate to partner Nico Hulkenberg in the new-look team under Mattia Binotto, Zhou has come out fighting and believes he has what it takes to continue at the top level.
‘I feel like there’s plenty more I can show to the paddock, to Formula 1,’ he told Mail Sport from Sauber’s HQ in Switzerland. ‘If I don’t have a seat, I don’t think it’s the end… I still have the chance to come back, and I will continue to work hard. Right now, I’m not thinking about what happens next.
‘In three years [in F1], I’ve experienced what a driver might experience in 10 years. I started with points on debut, then I had four races with technical issues when I could have scored more points, a massive crash in Silverstone.
‘Last year P5 in qualifying, which was incredible, and then the Sunday race I couldn’t get off-line. It’s been more like a rollercoaster ride than anything else.
‘The ups and downs just make you a better driver at the end of the day. Hopefully I can just put things together in the last few races. If I’m not staying, then I’m sure if the chance comes again I can still be better.’
Sauber are currently the only team in Formula 1 yet to score a point between both drivers in 2024, and focus from above appears to be firmly on the new era with Audi from 2026.
Zhou, though, can’t afford to blink in the remaining eight races of the season, as he battles to prove himself worthy of a spot on the grid next year.
That has been made harder by the car’s deficiencies in the second half of the year, with performance far below expectations – and all of their rivals.
‘It’s been a very challenging season,’ Zhou adds. ‘The first half we actually had a decent pace, but we’ve had a lot of issues in the pit-stops which damaged a lot of point-scoring opportunities.
‘Now, we’re on the back foot in terms of the whole package and the car’s development, compared to the rest. It’s the reality, we have to face it.
‘Of course, you want your future to be settled down and there’s still a seat available in this team, so we’re fighting for it.
‘This time of year, I’m just thinking about each individual race, giving it everything I have, trying to improve the weaknesses.
‘For me at least, it’s no different to the previous two years, because I’ve been a driver on an individual-year contract. My feeling and mindset hasn’t really changed a lot for this year, but of course it’s different when you know that you and your team-mate both want to have that final seat, and we get on very well together. You try and impress the team, and that’s all you can do.’
If this is the end of the road for China’s only Formula 1 driver in history, he bows out with memories to last a lifetime, having scored points on his debut, and raced in front of a fervent home crowd in Shanghai earlier this season.
At the race in April, Zhou cried on the track as he battled with the emotion of representing his nation of 1.41 billion people, and when he speaks about that day, the pride in his voice is obvious to hear.
Asked for his best moment in F1, he says: ‘It’s got to be Shanghai, it’s got to be the Chinese Grand Prix. That feeling I had the entire weekend was so different to other tracks.
‘It’s difficult to have an explanation about how it felt until you actually experience it yourself. The energy, the intensity, was so high for the entire weekend. My dream came true after 20 years, being a kid on the grandstand watching F1.
‘You want to impress the people that are there supporting you, you don’t want to be at the back of the grid. I was top 10 in sprint qualifying, finished P9 in the sprint race, and then finished 14th after starting further back [in the race].
‘It was a good moment, the crowd was so special, everyone was shouting my name. I never had this feeling in my life. I really dreamt of it, and finally it happened.’
If he wants to experience it again, though, Zhou will have to secure a seat for 2025.
While it may be unlikely, he’s certainly doing all he can to make it happen.
