Formula 1 racing team Ferrari has parted ways with replacement driver Guanyu Zhou with immediate effect. The Scuderia announced this on Friday. The F1 door may have finally closed for the 26-year-old Chinese.
At the end of 2024, after his three-year Formula 1 adventure with Sauber, Guanyu Zhou joined Ferrari to act as a test and reserve driver in the 2025 season. But this adventure is now over. On Friday, Scuderia announced its immediate separation from the Chinese.
“We are grateful for Zhou Guanyu’s commitment and contribution as Ferrari’s reserve driver this season! We wish him all the best for the future,” the team wrote on social media as they said goodbye.
This marked the end of the 26-year-old’s second spell with the Reds. He was part of the Scuderia from 2014 to 2018 – back then as a member of its own youth team. Over Formula 3 and Formula 2, he finally recommended himself for the premier class.
Zhou writes Formula 1 history
In 2022, he made history as the first Chinese driver in Formula 1 when he competed in a race for Sauber, which was competing in the premier motorsport class as Alfa Romeo at the time. In tenth place, he even managed to get into the points straight away at the season opener in Bahrain. In Montreal and Monza he also made it into the top 10.
Zhou’s second Formula 1 season was also quite satisfactory. Once again he finished in the top 10 three times. In 2024, however, he only finished in the points once. For the 2025 season, Sauber restructured its team and fired both Zhou and Valtteri Bottas. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were signed for them.
Zhou himself had emphasized several times during the 2025 season that he would like to return to Formula 1 as a regular driver. Due to his connections to the new Cadillac team boss Graeme Lowdon, he was long considered a newcomer to the US team. But even there they ultimately decided against the 26-year-old, who now has no door open in the premier class.