The Canadian Grand Prix was another race to forget for Sauber as they remain rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.
Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are having a torrid time with the Swiss team who seem to be counting down the races until Audi’s full takeover of the team.
Zhou was speaking to Motorsport.com after the Canadian Grand Prix and admitted that he was baffled by one aspect of the race in Montreal.
Sauber appear to be the only team on the grid who haven’t taken a step forward during the 2024 season.
Even Aston Martin and Mercedes who have struggled to understand their upgrades were much improved in Canada with George Russell starting on pole position and finishing on the podium.
Zhou and Bottas have not enjoyed the same luck and the Chinese driver admitted that something that had ‘never happened before’ ruined his race in Canada.
Pressure continues to build on the 25-year-old with his contract coming to an end at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
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Zhou Guanyu shares what ‘never happened before’ at the Canadian Grand Prix
One of the key issues that have faced Sauber throughout the campaign is their one-lap pace.
No driver has qualified in last place more than Zhou Guanyu this year and once again he set the slowest time in Canada.
Not only was Zhou slowest, but he was three-tenths off the next worst driver Nico Hulkenberg who was suffering from weird aerodynamic problems all weekend.
The gap was nearly a second to teammate Valtteri Bottas but Sauber decided to start both drivers from the pit lane so that they could change the rear wing on both cars, another set-up error made at the beginning of the weekend.
Zhou came home in 15 at the chequered flag – last of the remaining cars – and was the only driver lapped although that was partly down to another awful pit stop from the team – something that has ruined Sauber’s races all season.
Sauber don’t appear to be any closer to scoring their first point of the season and if either of their drivers is going to secure a top-ten finish, it’s going to be Bottas.
This means Zhou is likely to be near the bottom of many teams’ shortlists for 2025 based on his pace alone.
However, the 25-year-old might have a joker up his sleeve to secure a fourth season in Formula 1.
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Zhou Guanyu admits lack of understanding of the 2024 Sauber car
Asked what went wrong in Canada, Zhou said: “Just struggling across the different compounds. At the halfway stage of the race, I was a bit out of the race anyway, so a bit lonely.
“We have something already planned back at the factory to check everything, [and] make sure we are starting a little bit more from scratch.
“These two weekends, I feel like something is not clicking right and this weekend, all these mistakes, they never happened before.
“So we try to understand all of our issues and have some plans for the next race.”
When asked if he was worried about the rear of his 2024 Sauber due to the crashes he suffered earlier in the weekend, Zhou added: “It is everywhere, to be honest, just four-wheel sliding. There is not a massive limitation, we are just lacking grip. It is quite simple but not an easy one to get progress.”
Who could Zhou Guanyu drive for in 2025?
Technically Zhou Guanyu could still be offered a seat by Sauber for next year as they haven’t secured a partner for Nico Hulkenberg.
However, while Audi boss Andreas Seidl is keeping an eye on him and Bottas, that seems incredibly unlikely.
Zhou has been on the shortlist for Haas this year but they appear keen on going in a different direction.
That means his best chance of staying on the grid is likely with Alpine following the news that Esteban Ocon is moving on.
He’s got a serious budget that he could bring to the French manufacturer but it’s yet to be seen if that’s enough to convince Alpine to make a move for Zhou.
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