Zhou's Millions Could Fund Red Bull’s 2025 Driver Program
Dec.4 - A second Formula 1 team has entered the frame to secure the services of Guanyu Zhou in 2025. The Chinese, who like Valtteri Bottas will contest his last grand prix for..
Guanyu Zhou F1 stats & info
| Name | Zhou Guanyu |
| Country |  China |
| Height | 1.72 meter / 5 feet 8 inch |
| Place of Birth | Shanghai |
| Date of Birth | May 30th 1999 - 25 years old |
| Season Entries | 3 |
| Car Number | 24 |
| First Race | 2022 Bahrain F1 GP |
| Last Race | 2024 Abu Dhabi F1 GP |
| Best Qualifying | 5th - 2023 Hungarian F1 GP |
| Best Result | 8th - (2 times) |
| F1 Teams History | Alfa Romeo (2022-2023) Sauber (2024) |
Zhou Guanyu F1 Stats | |
| Grand Prix Entries | 68 |
| Grand Prix Starts | 68 |
| Total Points | 16.00 |
| Avg. Points per GP | 0.24 |
| Grand Prix Wins | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Avg. GP Grid | 15.8 |
| GP Podiums | 0 |
| GP Fastest Laps | 2 (2,9%) |
| GP Points Finish | 7 (10,3%) |
| Avg. GP Position | 14.0 |
| GP Retirements | 11 (16,2%) |
| GP DNF's | 10 (14,7%) |
| Total GP Laps | 3.651 |
Alfa Romeo Merchandise »
Biography
Guanyu Zhou Biography
Guanyu Zhou testing the Alfa Romeo on the first day of testing in Bahrain
Shanghai-born Zhou began karting at the age of eight and, aged 12, having exhausted the national competition, left China for Sheffield, UK, to compete for Strawberry Racing, where he won both the Super 1 National Rotax Max Junior Championship and Rotax Max Euro Challenge.
Mid-2014, aged 15, Zhou joined the Ferrari Driver Academy after being spotted by the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Team. In 2015, Zhou relocated to Italy to race for Prema Powerteam, contesting the Italian Formula 4 Championship and finishing his first season as Vice-Champion and Best Rookie.
A move to Team Motopark in 2016 to compete in the FIA Formula European Formula 3 Championship marked the start of a three-year stint in the series, which saw him make his return to Prema in 2017, where he stayed for a further season.
At the end of 2018, Zhou left the Ferrari Driver Academy and was awarded the role of Development Driver for the Renault Formula One Team as part of their Renault Sport Academy driver program, now the Alpine Academy.
BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 10: Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42. (Photo by Carl Bingham / LAT Images)
2019 saw Zhou make his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut and a welcome return to the UK with a British team, UNI-Virtuosi Racing, where he finished seventh in his first season, taking the Anthoine Hubert Award for the Highest-Finishing Rookie.
Having shown his dedication, commitment, and talent, in 2020 he was promoted to official Test Driver for Alpine F1 Team. No stranger to breaking the mold, Zhou’s role as a Test Driver makes him the first driver from China to occupy a Formula 1 role within a manufacturer team.
After leading the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Virtuosi Racing, 22-year-old Zhou made his Formula 1 race weekend debut at the 2021 Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Friday 2nd July for Alpine, taking to the wheel of Fernando Alonso’s A521 for the first Free Practice session.
On 16 November 2021, Alfa Romeo announced Zhou would be making his Formula 1 debut in 2022 as Valtteri Bottas' teammate and Antonio Giovinazzi's replacement.
Debut F1 season with points in the first race
In his first F1 race, Zhou started 15th and finished the race in 10th place, scoring a point in his debut race with Alfa Romeo.
Then, Zhou finished 11th in consecutive races, in Saudi Arabia and Australia with adequate performances.
Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI
In the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Zho qualified six-tenths ahead of his experienced teammate (and great driver on Saturdays) Valtteri Bottas.
Then, he repeated the feat in the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix (he went through Q3 and Bottas didn't, and the difference between the two in Q2 was six-tenths). He went on to finish the race in eighth place, the best result of his F1 career so far.
On 3 July 2022, Zhou suffered a heavy crash at the start of the 2022 British Grand Prix in which his Alfa Romeo car flipped over, and the roll bar failed. The crash looked terrifying, but fortunately, Zhou was fine and was able to race seven days later at the 2022 Austrian GP.
In the rest of the season, Zhou scored one point with 10th place in the 2022 Italian Grand Prix. Although he scored six points, as opposed to his teammate's 49, Zhou did well enough to be announced as a driver for 2023, as the team published on 27 September 2022.
Zhou also outqualified Bottas throughout the year and looked quite good in the campaign's second half.
Zhou's second Formula 1 campaign looked exactly like the first one, with six points scored in 22 Grands Prix. However, his performance as a sophomore was noticeably better than in his rookie year, but the Alfa Romeo car didn't allow him to show it on the stat sheet.
The Chinese driver scored six of the team's 49 points in 2022, but he scored six of the squad's 16 points in 2023, showing that he performed closer to his teammate Valtteri Bottas' level.
The best result for Zhou in the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship season was ninth, which he achieved in three events (Australia, Spain, and Qatar).
Official Guanyu Zhou website: https://www.zhou-guanyu.com
Helmets
Guanyu Zhou Helmets
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- 2022 Helmet Guanyu Zhou
Cars
Guanyu Zhou F1 Cars
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- Guanyu Zhou (CHI), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the Formula 1 pre-season testing prior the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship, on the Bahrain International Circuit, from March 10 to 12, 2022 in Sakhir, Bahrain – Photo Diederik Van Ver Laan / DPPI
Seasons
Guanyu Zhou Final Championship Results
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 18th | 18th | 21st |
Guanyu Zhou F1 Seasons Summary
| Year | Team | Engine | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | Laps | FL | Avg Pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 |
 Sauber | Ferrari | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1346 | 0 | 0.17 | 4 |
| 2023 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1244 | 1 | 0.27 | 6 |
| 2022 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1061 | 1 | 0.27 | 6 |
Races
Guanyu Zhou F1 GP Race Classifications
| 8th | 2 Times |
| 9th | 3 Times |
| 10th | 2 Times |
| 11th | 3 Times |
| 12th | 5 Times |
| 13th | 10 Times |
| 14th | 7 Times |
| 15th | 7 Times |
| 16th | 11 Times |
| 17th | 2 Times |
| 18th | 3 Times |
| 19th | 2 Times |
| 20th | 1 Time |
| DNF | 10 Times |
Guanyu Zhou F1 GP Race Results
Podiums
Guanyu Zhou F1 Podium Finishes
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts |
|---|
Poles
Guanyu Zhou F1 Pole Positions
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts |
|---|
Comparison
Guanyu Zhou Teammate Comparison
| Year | Team | Team Mate | Best Pos | Points | Wins | Poles | Pos | Quali | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Alfa Romeo | Valtteri Bottas | 8 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 13 |
| 2023 | Alfa Romeo | Valtteri Bottas | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 15 |
| 2024 | Sauber | Valtteri Bottas | 8 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 20 |
News
Latest Guanyu Zhou News
Zhou’s Qatar P8 Highlights Sauber’s Late Efforts in Bottas' Exit
Dec.4 - It is clear there is no love lost as Valtteri Bottas prepares to race for Audi-owned Sauber for the last time. Embarrassingly for the 10-time Mercedes race winner, he and..
Guanyu Zhou Targets Cadillac’s Debut Amid Managerial Link
Dec.1 - Guanyu Zhou might have a real chance at a race seat with the new-in-2026 Formula 1 team Cadillac. The Chinese driver, who like his current Audi-Sauber teammate Valtteri..
New Cadillac F1 Team Sparks Ambitions Among Current F1 Drivers
Nov.29 - At least three current drivers are already eyeing the new Cadillac F1 team. Mercedes announced in Qatar that Mick Schumacher is stepping down from his role as the team's..
Ferrari Eyes Zhou as Key Test Driver for 2025 Season
Nov.28 - Ferrari is "very interested" in signing up Guanyu Zhou as a test driver, the Chinese driver claims. While fellow Audi-Sauber refugee Valtteri Bottas looks set to rejoin..
Bottas and Zhou Plot Bold Comebacks After Losing 2025 Seats
Nov.22 - Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou have suggested they are not giving up on Formula 1, despite losing their race seats for 2025. The pair, currently teammates at Audi-owned..
Zhou Eyes Ferrari Reserve Role Amid 2025 Driver Market Shake-Up
Nov.18 - Guanyu Zhou could become a Ferrari reserve driver in 2025. Fellow Audi-Sauber refugee, Valtteri Bottas, is expected to return to Mercedes next year in a reserve role -..
Bottas Slams Contract Rumors and Zhou Prepares for Plan B
Sep.22 - Valtteri Bottas slammed as "fake news" reports that he has definitely signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Audi-owned Sauber next year. The claim was made by..
Colapinto Impresses as Audi Considers Young Talent for 2025
Sep.20 - Franco Colapinto insists he has "no idea" if he's becoming a frontrunner to keep his brand new Formula 1 career alive by being signed by Audi-owned Sauber for 2025. Nico..
Drivers Press Conference 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix
PART ONE: Oliver Bearman (Haas), Franco Colapinto (Williams), Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) – Pre-Baku Press Conference Q: Oliver, great to have you back for a full F1 race weekend. What..
Read more Guanyu Zhou News »
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