Zhou Guanyu has returned to Ferrari to serve as the team’s reserve driver across the upcoming 2025 Formula 1 season alongside the retained Antonio Giovinazzi.
Zhou had spent the previous three seasons in a permanent race drive with Sauber, but he was dropped as the Audi-owned squad opted to go with a revised line-up in 2025.
However, the Chinese driver harbours an ambition to get back on the grid in 2026, and he revealed late last year that Ferrari was interested in adding him to its reserve pool.
Ferrari has announced that a deal has now been reached which will see Zhou deputise to the team’s main drivers, Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
The move sees Zhou reunite with the Italian marque, with a period in the Ferrari Driver Academy between 2014 and 2018 preceding stints with Renault and then Sauber.
Zhou will share reserve responsibilities with Giovinazzi, who also competed with the Hinwil-based Sauber team in F1 across a three-season spell between 2019 and 2021.
Giovinazzi has remained with Ferrari ever since and has thrived in the team’s World Endurance Championship line-up, winning the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023.
The Italian, who drove Ferrari’s 2023-spec SF-23 in Barcelona last month, will dovetail his WEC drive with his duties as a reserve to the Maranello-based squad’s F1 venture.
Zhou’s arrival will ensure that Ferrari has a driver available should Hamilton or Leclerc be unable to compete, though Oliver Bearman could be called upon in that case.
Bearman, who competed in three races last season, is preparing to embark upon his rookie F1 campaign with Haas, but he has retained his long-standing ties with Ferrari.
The Briton’s loan could be interrupted should Ferrari require a driver, as Mercedes did when it recalled George Russell from Williams at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020.
However, should a change be required mid-race weekend, like in Saudi Arabia last season when Carlos Sainz withdrew prior to FP3, then Giovinazzi or Zhou would step up.
Zhou’s potential track time in an F1 car will be limited to filming days or test outings as his 68 race starts ensure he is ineligible to be counted as a rookie in an FP1 session.
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