A remarkable rumour appeared in the Italian media this weekend. First, the Corriere della Sera reported that Guanyu Zhou had found a new team. The Chinese driver, who is set to leave Sauber (future Audi) after the current season, was projected by the Italians to become Ferrari's regular reserve driver in 2025.
Many media - including initially GPblog - reported this as a rumour. As usual, the website meanwhile contacted Ferrari to find out if there was any truth in the story. The Italian team have since informed GPblog that the Zhou rumour is 'not true'.
Ferrari looking for Bearman's successor
At the moment, Oliver Bearman was and is the Scuderia's reserve driver, but the Briton will start as a full-time driver for Haas F1 next year. Ferrari must therefore look for a replacement for the youngster. Arthur Leclerc, Charles' younger brother, is currently Ferrari's so-called development driver, however, he is not mentioned in the halls as a possible reserve driver for the F1 team.
So Guanyu Zhou is not leaving for Ferrari and it is unclear what he will do. The Chinese has since expressed his interest in a reserve role at an F1 team, provided there is the prospect of finding a permanent place for '26. At Ferrari that was not possible anyway, as the team has Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton under contract for '26. Moreover, Zhou has not shown he has the qualities a top team like Ferrari are looking for.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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