Zhou Guanyu Surrenders Audi F1 Seat To Valtteri Bottas In 2025 Battle

Alex Harrington | Aug 30, 2024

Nov 15, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu of China speaks during media availabilities at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Zhou Guanyu has surrendered his seat to his teammate Valtteri Bottas as the newly rebranded Audi F1 team - currently known as Sauber - looks to fill their remaining car alongside Nico Hulkenberg.

Zhou, the Chinese driver who has been with Sauber since the 2022 season, is prepared for any outcome with remarkable composure, according to his conversation with Crash.net.

“Of course. I think there are two options. The reality is we might stay in the seat in Sauber or I won’t be having a seat next year," Zhou admitted during the Italian Grand Prix weekend in Monza. “I’m completely open in this topic. I don’t feel like if I don’t have a seat I will be very upset about it. Fighting for a seat with Valtteri, either one of us have it, I’m more than happy if I lose the seat against him.”

Zhou’s understanding of how competitive the current driver market is could be telling.

“Yeah, I could accept the fact. Either way, we need to see what happens after that,” he remarked.

Despite the looming uncertainties, the Shanghai driver remains committed to Formula 1, refusing to consider alternatives prematurely.

“I won’t go to any other championship yet,” he firmly stated, "I want to have another opportunity in the future and hopefully have another shot at it [F1].”

Zhou's plan, should he not secure a full-time seat, is to remain involved in some capacity within F1.

“If you don’t have a seat then the only way is to be a reserve driver and wait for opportunities,” he admitted. “It really depends on what they have and what seats other teams have available maybe for the future. But now I’m just purely speaking about the [Sauber race] seat for next year. Of course, that’s the priority.”

His current priorities are clear as he remains focused on 2025, despite contacts from other racing teams in different leagues:

“There are people already contacting me wanting to do other series. At the moment I don’t want to be in other series yet.”

Regardless of the outcome between him and Bottas for the Audi seat, Zhou obviously has opportunities to stay within motorsport. Whether this will be within F1 is yet to be confirmed.

Zhou has faced a challenging 2024 season, consistently struggling to move up the field despite some commendable efforts. Starting from low grid positions in every race in a car that's been struggling for performance, he has found it difficult to break into the top 10, with his season-best finish being 11th place. He has experienced a mix of finishes, often around the lower midfield, with two retirements adding to his tough campaign.