F1 News
Zhou left with performance regrets as he weighs up his F1 future
- Jeroen Immink
At least one of (possibly both) Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will leave Sauber at the end of the season. Nico Hulkenberg will move from Haas to Sauber for the start of next season. This is at the team which will be known as Audi in 2026 and beyond. Both Formula 1 drivers have commented on the situation at the race team.
Bottas and Zhou have been teammates since 2022, but now have to fight each other for a chance at the vacant Audi seat. Both drivers realise that this might be their last chance for a seat in Formula 1.
Bottas: 'My options are limited, that's how it is'
Bottas says he has wanted to have coffee with Mattia Binotto on several occasions. The former Ferrari team boss will take on a managerial role at Audi, to give more structure to the team. "I have full trust in Mattia. He knows how to lead a team and I think he's learned a lot in the last weeks what the team needs. Now it's actually the first time he'll be on track observing how we operate, so I'm sure he'll pick up even more," Bottas revealed when asked by GPblog.
"Options are limited for me. That's how it is. Of course, it has crossed my mind, and I've had to think what if I'm not in Formula 1. But I think it's still too early to think about that for the next years ahead. I'll always be racing something. I love racing. That's what I've done all my life. I mentioned before that we started the discussions with good respect and in a positive way. I think he really understands what he can get out of me for the team. That's a good thing for me," Bottas said.
Zhou has regrets
For Zhou, racing for a contract at all costs is almost a habit. "It's obviously not the first time I've had a one-year contract, so it wouldn't change the story for me. But on the other side, we need to se what we can bring togeher because when you have one year, you obviously look out. But when Audi came, I think that's where the bigger change came in terms of pure performance. Also, you can fight hopefully closer to the top three, and that's where we want to be," the Chinese driver said.
He doesn't say whether he feels he has much or little chance of getting the seat at Audi. "It really depends on what Mattia and also what the Audi people really want, so we need to speak about it, and I'm open to discussions about individual or multiple [years]. It really depends, so we need to see and wait, and have some discussions, because nothing has been too detailed, but I think now is probably the time."
In doing so, Zhou himself feels he should have shown more in the quest for an F1 seat. "I didn't show as much as I wanted to in terms of performance, especially in one lap pace I've been lacking. Of course, I feel like I have a chance and definitely being one of the runners fighting for the seat together with my teammate and some others maybe. But nothing is confirmed, so I'm open to talk about it," Zhou said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton
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