F1 News: Sauber Driver Confirms Talks With Ferrari For 2025

Saajan Jogia | Nov 28, 2024

Nov 22, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu of China (24) drives during qualifiers for the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024 at the Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Zhou Guanyu, who will part ways with Sauber after the 2024 season, has revealed that he has received interest from Ferrari for a reserve driver role in 2025 and that discussions are currently ongoing. Zhou added that he is also assessing other offers while confirming his ultimate goal remains to stay in Formula 1.

With Sauber all set to be taken over by Audi in 2026, the team's management structure and driver lineup will undergo significant changes. Under the leadership of CEO and CTO Mattia Binotto, the Hinwil outfit will feature F1 veteran Nico Hulkenberg alongside F2 driver Gabriel Bortoleto next year, who will replace Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas.

However, with no available seat apart from with VCARB, China's first F1 driver is looking at other ways to stay in the premier class of motorsport. When asked about the next step in his racing career, Guanyu said:

“Just staying in F1.

“It would be in a reserve role, but I don’t know where to go yet. I haven’t decided which decision to make.

“We already spoke to some teams already before the [Sauber] announcement was released, but after the announcement a few other teams approached us, so quite a few good options I see my future with.

“But for me, I feel like I’m in a position where there’s no rush to make a decision because I need to make sure I’m in a team that can give me a chance to have a seat back [on the grid] and also in a team that I can continue to grow as a driver.

“We need to take a bit more time. It won’t be decided very [soon or in the] next months.”

Ferrari's current reserve driver Robert Shwartzman will end ties with Ferrari as he shifts his focus to competing in IndyCar next year, which could be an ideal opportunity for Guanyu to capitalize upon. When asked about the rumored talks with Ferrari, he said:

“Everybody [would] love to be driving in red, especially for the race seat.

“For the reserve [role], they show some interest so we are discussing it. There’s other options as well, so there’s no one team or the other I would prefer to join.

“I just want to make sure I’m in a team that has a good or competitive car that I can continue to learn and continue to learn for myself, from a driver’s and team perspective.

“And also [a team] trying to get me out there, doing some testing and taking the reserve role to work on the development as well.”

When asked if he was interested in racing in another motorsports category, the Sauber driver said:

“At the moment no, because I had the offers and interest in other series.

“But at the moment, I still want to be staying here because I do feel next year, with a lot of rookies joining the teams, there’s a lot of opportunities that could happen for ’26 onwards, so I still want to stay here.

“It won’t be a long period that I try to stay on in a reserve role before I take another series, but I do still try to get [an F1 seat] as much as I possibly can, and hopefully waiting for a good opportunity to come back.

“Some series attract me but I just feel, at this period of my racing career, I still want to give a shot more in this paddock.”

Guanyu is confident of remaining in the F1 paddock in 2025. He added:

“I would say, yeah. I would say you will see me in the paddock. Which colour, I don’t know, so I’ll leave that TBC.”