Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu admitted he’s “surprised” by Carlos Sainz’s continued indecision over his Formula 1 future as the rest of the driver market waits for the Spaniard to make his move.
Sainz was slated to be signing for Williams amid the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend but it is understood Alpine entering the race to sign the Ferrari driver at the 11th hour.
Two weeks on from the F1 Spanish GP, Sainz continues to deliberate his options which include Zhou’s current employer Sauber.
The Chinese driver is one of many waiting for Sainz to make his move to put plans in place for 2025 and beyond.
“We’re all waiting for Carlos to make decisions but we are continuing to speak to different teams to understand where I’m going,” Zhou told media including Motorsport Week on Thursday at Silverstone.
“It’s clear [Sainz] is kind of priority in the market now but things remain open and at this point, I still feel confident that I can have a chance somewhere.
“Honestly, I feel it’s a bit difficult to understand just because it’s not that difficult to make a decision.
“You’re not really making a decision of a team maybe fighting for a World Championship, you’re making a decision between mid-runner teams and it depends on where you want to head off.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking but we’re just waiting for him.”
Zhou reiterated that he feels Sainz is “holding up everyone’s decision,” and believes it is only a matter of time until teams as well as drivers get tired of waiting for the Spaniard.
“I see the teams hav[ing] some deadlines at least because you can’t be just waiting for another until he made his mind clear,” the Sauber driver said.
Zhou’s hastiness contrasted the mood of his Sauber team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who noted that the driver market waiting for the Sainz domino to fall is “sometimes how it goes.”
Still, Bottas’ steadier mood could be put down to his experience as a 10-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner, whereas Zhou is relying on a less competitive F1 CV to attract teams.
It’s no wonder then that Bottas is unphased by Sainz’s indecision and remains confident he is “in a good position” regarding a sport on next year’s Formula 1 grid.
“It’s actually exciting,” Bottas remarked.
“I mean, it’s part of the sport and we’re actually still in July.
“I’ve been in situations before that I’ve had to wait until September or October.
“So, I think we’re still in a decent situation. If you would ask me in October, if we’re in this situation, then it may be starting to get frustrating, but in July, not really.”
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