Meanwhile, Zhou walks away from F1 amid general indifference.

How far away this 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix seems, which marked the grand premiere in F1 de Guanyu-Zhou, this Chinese pilot brought up in juniors at Ferrari then at Renault, and which had been synonymous with his first point in F1 (10th), on the Sakhir circuit. Criticized during the winter and pointed out for having obtained his seat thanks to his advantageous nationality, Zhou had achieved several nice performances, signing three entries in the points that year, including an 8th place in Montreal which remains his best result in F1.

Overshadowed by the experienced Valtteri Bottas in the championship in 2022, he was not however ridiculous in qualifying, losing only 14-8. From 6th in the Constructors' Championship that year, Sauber has fallen down the hierarchy since last year, with a 9th place in 2023, and a current position of red lantern at the moment, with no points in the bag.

The Chinese driver has started to feel the blow as his car's performance has declined, to the point where he is currently being beaten 17-1 in qualifying by the Finn. His eleventh place in Bahrain on his favourite circuit in the first round allows him to be ahead of his teammate in the championship, but 0 points plus 0 points will still be 0... The most annoying thing is that Guanyu Zhou seems to have stopped progressing after this promising 2022 season. We expected him to raise the level, to compete more with Valtteri Bottas, but it hasn't happened and this impression of stagnation has been too present in recent months.

Zhou unlikely to be on the grid in 2025

At a time when F1 and teams no longer need targeted markets to make money, Zhou is in an unfavorable position to keep his seat in 2025 and does not have much in his bag to make Audi dream. Nico Hulkenberg has already secured a seat, and the second has a good chance of ending up in the hands of Valtteri Bottas, who has been more deserving over the last three years and whose experience as a Grand Prix winner could prove valuable in turning things around. Hinwil. Audi's other plans (because it is the Germans who are already deciding) are rather leading towards promising young drivers, such as Gabriel Bortoleto or Franco Colapinto, which obviously does not smell good for Guanyu Zhou.

"At the moment I obviously want to get the Sauber seat, and if it turns out that I don't have it, we will have to think about the rest of the options available.", explained the Shanghai native. “At the moment, all I can say is that there are already several very good opportunities, with teams from other series approaching me for a drive for next year.”

The Sauber driver's huge priority remains to stay in F1, or failing that, to maximise his chances of returning. “I think the most important thing is that wherever I go I have to make sure that the goal of F1 doesn't close at that point, because I think a lot of drivers are coming back. We must therefore ensure that the opportunity that arises in another series does not prevent us from achieving the set objective." Raising your level over the last six rounds would not be a bad idea in this perspective…

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