Ferrari Drops Reserve Driver Zhou Guanyu for 2026
Ferrari will not retain Zhou Guanyu as a reserve driver for 2026, ending his one-year stint with the team. The move leaves the only Chinese driver to race in F1 without a confirmed role, with his future now tied to securing a seat with the new Cadillac team.
Ferrari has officially confirmed that Zhou Guanyu will not return as a reserve driver for the 2026 season, concluding his one-year stint with the Scuderia. The 26-year-old Chinese driver, who spent the 2025 season on the sidelines after leaving Sauber, now faces an uncertain future in Formula 1 as he searches for a new opportunity on the grid.
Why it matters:
This decision marks a significant setback for Zhou, the only Chinese driver to ever compete in F1, leaving him without a clear path back to the grid. For Ferrari, it signals a strategic pivot, clearing the way for the promotion of younger talent from their driver academy, such as Oliver Bearman, as they plan for a post-Charles Leclerc/Lewis Hamilton era.
The details:
- A Year on the Sidelines: Zhou served as a reserve driver for Ferrari alongside Antonio Giovinazzi throughout the 2025 season, a role he took after his three-year tenure with Sauber came to an end.
- A Pioneering Career: Zhou remains a landmark figure in F1 history as its first and only Chinese driver. His career includes three full-time seasons on the grid and an earlier stint in the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2014 to 2018.
- The Cadillac Hope: His primary focus for 2026 was securing a race seat with the incoming Cadillac team. While his management has connections to new Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, Zhou himself was cautious, stating the final decision rests with the team's leadership and not just personal ties.
- Acknowledging the Pressure: Zhou previously spoke about the "brutal" nature of F1, emphasizing the need to constantly prove one's skills and mental toughness to avoid being eliminated from the sport.
What's next:
Zhou's immediate future hinges entirely on securing a seat with the Cadillac F1 project. Without that, his prospects of returning to the grid in 2026 are slim. For Ferrari, this move almost certainly paves the way for Oliver Bearman to assume a more formalized reserve and testing role, integrating him deeper into the team's operations as he prepares for a potential future race seat.