**EXCLUSIVE: Zhou Guanyu Opens Up on Sauber Struggles, F1 Dreams and Career Regrets**

EXCLUSIVE: Zhou Guanyu discusses Sauber difficulties, F1 aspirations, and reflections

In an exclusive interview with Crash.net, Zhou Guanyu shares his challenges with managing his Sauber car and talks about his Formula 1 ambitions and what he wishes he could have done differently.

Zhou Guanyu's 2024 F1 season has been a blend of highs and lows. While he has realized his childhood aspirations, he also confronts an unpredictable future.

A quick glance at this year’s statistics might suggest that Zhou hasn't earned a spot for the 2025 season, as he hasn't secured any points and his highest placement was 11th, which he achieved just one time.

However, documents by themselves seldom convey the complete narrative.

Sauber's 2024 car is the least fast on the grid and difficult to handle, making it challenging to accurately assess driver performance.

"It's been a challenging season," remarked F1's first Chinese driver in an interview with Crash.net. "We've faced numerous difficulties, each arising at various times throughout the season."

"After things have calmed down, our car doesn't perform as well as we'd like. This year's model needs a different driving technique that I'm working on improving, but it's not a quick or simple adjustment."

Adjusting his driving technique has significantly impacted Zhou's performance during single-lap qualifying sessions.

"It's not easy for me to alter my driving style for just one lap," he said. "However, during a race, I can adjust quite easily right from the start."

"The optimal performance of the car relies on a very narrow range of conditions. To achieve the best results, everything must be perfectly aligned. If not, we generally experience a lack of overall grip."

"I prefer a more aggressive driving style and enjoy pushing the car to its limits. However, with the current vehicle, being too aggressive disrupts its balance significantly. As a result, this has somewhat hindered my performance during qualifying."

Formula 1 drivers have consistently been constrained by the performance of their cars. For Zhou, this has been the case for three years, as his talent has been overshadowed by cars that are often not competitive and occasionally unreliable.

Overall, the 25-year-old has done a commendable job in Formula 1. He typically keeps pace with Valtteri Bottas, who is a seasoned driver with 10 grand prix victories and 20 pole positions to his name. Zhou is reliable, rarely makes errors, and has experienced his fair share of misfortune throughout the years.

Zhou spoke honestly about his disappointments and challenges during his complicated time in F1, where he has earned 12 points from 60 race appearances.

"Naturally, I do have some regrets; you always tend to feel that way," he confessed.

"I don't think my seasons have been very smooth so far. In my first year, I missed a lot of opportunities due to technical problems, and this year, it's about accepting our current position."

"Last year, I put in maximum effort and felt like things were falling into place. However, this year, I faced some frustration because I anticipated making further progress, but things regressed instead. I wished for better outcomes in races where I had stronger opportunities."

One of the most significant missed opportunities due to bad luck occurred during last year's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Zhou achieved his highest qualifying position in Formula 1, securing fifth place on the starting grid. However, a strange issue at the beginning of the race led to a slow start, causing him to quickly fall behind. A collision with Daniel Ricciardo worsened the situation, resulting in Zhou finishing the race a lap down in 16th place.

If not for the problem, they might have achieved their greatest result to date.

Reflecting on the incident, Zhou expressed his disappointment, but acknowledged that such setbacks are a common part of racing. He conveyed his gratitude for the opportunity to compete and to represent Chinese drivers in the sport.

Zhou openly acknowledges his disappointment with the outcome of his 2025 season. Despite both Sauber drivers failing to score points, he lags behind his teammate Bottas with an 11-5 record on race days and a 15-1 deficit in qualifying sessions (excluding sprint race results).

He admitted, "I'm not very happy this year. Around mid-season, just before the summer break, I could have performed better."

"I believe I made some errors, particularly during qualifying when I couldn't perform at my best. Clearly, I'm facing the challenge of adjusting my driving technique, which occasionally leads to mistakes. I feel that I can improve in this area."

"Other than that, I believe I've been able to slowly enhance my performance over the past two and a half seasons, which I'm pleased about. However, this season has been a bit of a mixed bag overall."

Zhou is battling to preserve his spot in Formula 1, aware that at least one other racer is vying for the last available seat at Sauber. With only one position open and multiple contenders, Zhou risks being left out entirely.

Should this mark the end of Zhou's career in Formula 1, the poignant and momentous return to his homeland during the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this year will always be a highlight.

Zhou mentioned that the pinnacle of his career would undoubtedly be his first Grand Prix in Bahrain in 2022. He expressed that earning points in his debut race was a dream come true, something beyond his wildest expectations. He felt honored to have achieved it.

"The Chinese Grand Prix felt like a childhood dream come true within the realm of Formula 1. While participating in F1 is already a dream, competing on home soil, where my journey began, made the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix particularly special."

“After two decades, achieving that dream, separate from my F1 aspirations, was incredible. The experience was surreal with the crowd and the atmosphere focused on me. That day will always be unforgettable.”

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