Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 World Champion, has not been impressed by the performance of Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu. Despite the Chinese driver’s substantial sponsorship backing, Villeneuve believes Zhou’s results on the track do not justify a place on the grid for the 2025 season.
Zhou is in his third season with Sauber, and neither he nor his teammate Valtteri Bottas have scored a point this season due to an uncompetitive car. However, Zhou trails Bottas significantly, with a 13-1 deficit in qualifying head-to-heads and a 9-5 lag in race results.
Villeneuve emphasized that although Zhou brings a ‘big luggage of cash’ through his sponsors, this financial backing does not compensate for his lackluster results. Villeneuve mentioned, ‘Based on his results, Zhou doesn’t deserve a seat in F1. If a team can get all that sponsorship money that Zhou brings with him, even as a reserve driver, then it’s a great result for them.’
Zhou’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he is currently exploring options to remain in Formula 1 for 2025, including staying with Sauber, which is transitioning to Audi. He also has past connections with Alpine, having been a junior driver there before joining the F1 grid.
Before Carlos Sainz confirmed his switch to Williams, Zhou expressed his hope that the move would trigger more opportunities in the driver market. ‘I want to stay here, that’s very clear,’ Zhou stated, indicating his desire to remain in Formula 1. He added, ‘It’s very easy to say we are all waiting for Carlos to decide at the end of the day, but hopefully he can make his decision sooner and then I think that will turn around a lot the driver market.’
As the 2025 driver line-up starts to take shape, Zhou Guanyu’s future in Formula 1 remains uncertain. Despite his financial backing, his performance on the track will ultimately dictate whether he secures a seat for the upcoming season.
