Zhou Guanyu

The first Chinese driver in F1 history, Zhou Guanyu raced for three consecutive season with Sauber before moving to Ferrari in a reserve role, as he looks to return to the grid in future.

Born in Shanghai, Zhou showed enough promise in karting to be signed to the Ferrari Junior Academy to begin his single-seater career. He then impressed in Formula 2 as a rookie and joined the F1 grid with Alfa Romeo-branded Sauber.

It wasn’t just his background that made Zhou stand out in his rookie year: he pulled off a strong recovery drive on his debut to score points at the Bahrain Grand Prix and then made headlines mid-season when he tangled with George Russell at the start of the British Grand Prix. His car was flipped upside down and skidded along the track in a trail of sparks, then catapulted into the air by a gravel trap, which sent the car flying over the tyre barrier and trapped by the catch fence. Despite the dramatic footage, he emerged unharmed save for minor bruising.

But eye-catching performances were too rare in subsequent seasons when Zhou was often in the shadow of his team-mate Valtteri Bottas and hampered by the pace of his Sauber, which led to him being dropped from a race seat at the end of 2024.

Karting and early years 

Compared to some other drivers on the F1 grid, Zhou was a late bloomer, starting in karting at the age of eight and not competing until the age of 13. But he quickly found success, winning the Rotax Max Euro Trophy (Junior) and the Super 1 National Rotax Max Junior in 2013, before finishing runner up in the Rotax Euro Challenge the following year.

His talent drew the attention of the Ferrari Driver Academy, who backed his move into single-seater racing for the 2015 season, racing in Italian Formula 4 against future F1 star Lando Norris and Robert Schwartzman. Zhou was highly successful, winning three rounds and eventually finished second in the championship.

After three years in the series, Zhou parted ways with Ferrari, and was picked up by Renault, which added him to its elite F1 pro driver programme.

F2 success with Virtuosi

Zhou graduated to Formula 2 in 2019, ultimately finishing seventh in the drivers’ standings during a difficult debut season, which included the tragic death of fellow Renault junior Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps. The newly-created Hubert award was eventually given to Zhou at the end of the season for exceptional performance during his rookie campaign, which included five podium finishes.