Qatar Grand Prix had a surprise honorary victor: the Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who finished eighth and got the first four points for his team Kick Sauber. In the penultimate race of the season!
Sauber has had a disastrous season, and one month ago they announced the firing of Guanyu as well as Valtteri Bottas.
“It’s a relief, you know” Zhou told Sky Sports F1, as read on the F1 website. “I think happy is probably not the word, relief is the word. It’s been a long season – where we’ve come from at the beginning of the year, throughout the season, we never expected to have a car to fight for points.
Sauber introduced an upgrade in Las Vegas and it worked out, at least for him. Veteran driver Valtteri Bottas, winner of 10 Grand Prix, hasn’t scored a single point this season. Zhou, however, praised the work that people don’t see behind the scenes, and acknowledges that it has been a draining season for the whole team.
Sauber is going through big changes before it turns into Audio in 2026. Zhou and Bottas will not continue next year, replaced by Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Formula 2’s Gabriel Bortoleto. However, rumours say Zhou is in talks to join Ferrari next year as a reserve driver for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. “I’m sure when the chance is here I will do a much better job”.