Zhou Guanyu has been confirmed as a Ferrari reserve driver for the 2025 F1 season as backup to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Zhou, dropped by Sauber at the end of the 2024 season after three years with the team, was previously in the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2014-2018 before moving to Alpine’s junior programme.
Antonio Giovinazzi, formerly of Alfa Romeo in F1 from 2019-2021, will be Ferrari’s other reserve driver this year.
Zhou, the first-ever Chinese F1 driver, has landed a reserve role to stay immersed within the F1 paddock as he eyes a route back onto the grid for 2026.
Ollie Bearman – who deputised for Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia last March – is moving to a full-time seat at Haas this year, but could still be used by the Scuderia should Leclerc or Hamilton be unable to race.
Zhou posted on Instagram: “Back to where it all started, thanks Ferrari for believing in me & can’t wait to start this new chapter together!”
The 25-year-old scored 16 points over three years with Alfa Romeo/Sauber, claiming his only points of 2024 at the penultimate race in Qatar.
He enjoyed a historic moment last year when he took the acclaim of the crowd in Shanghai as the first home driver to race in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Giovinazzi will continue to race for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship this year. He won the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours event.
As for Hamilton, the 40-year-old is continuing his testing programme with Ferrari this week via a Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona.
