Zhou Guanyu lost his seat at Sauber following the 2024 Formula 1 season, as the team added Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto as their drivers for the 2025 season and beyond. But the Chinese driver will still be in the paddock this upcoming season.

The first Chinese driver in Formula 1 is heading back to Ferrari as one of its reserve drivers for the 2025 season.

Ferrari appointed Zhou Guanyu as a Formula One reserve driver on Wednesday after the Chinese lost his race seat with Swiss-based Sauber.

Ferrari has history of looking to recent F1 drivers to support its race team line-up, having worked with Giovinazzi — the driver Zhou replaced at Sauber in 2022 — in recent years. The team announced last year that one of its reserves, Robert Shwartzman, would not be returning in 2025 after his move into IndyCar.

The 25-year-old will split the role of supporting Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with Italian Antonio Giovinazzi.

Zhou Guanyu lands new Ferrari role for the 2025 F1 season. Zhou Guanyu has joined Ferrari as one of their two reserve drivers for the 2025 F1 season. Zhou was axed by Sauber at the end of 2024, leaving him without a seat on the grid.

Chinese F1 driver Zhou Guanyu joined the Ferrari F1 team as a reserve driver after the driver exited Kick Sauber in 2024. Read More: Louis Vuitton Joins F1, Becomes Partner for Australian GP Zhou will be part of the reserve team,

China's Zhou Guanyu is to be one of two Ferrari reserve drivers in 2025. The 25-year-old, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last season after three years with the Swiss team, joins Italian Antonio Giovinazzi. Zhou, who was a member of the Ferrari driver academy from 2015 to 2018, will support race drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.