Zhou Guanyu named Ferrari reserve driver for 2025

Former Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu has been confirmed as one of Ferrari’s reserve drivers for the 2025 season alongside Antonio Giovinazzi.

The pair will be first in line if Ferrari’s race drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, are unable to participate in a race this year.

Oliver Bearman acted as Ferrari’s reserve driver last year when Carlos Sainz suffered appendicitis in Saudi Arabia, but the British driver, who remains a Ferrari junior, now has a full-time race seat at Haas for 2025.

Zhou raced for Sauber for three years in Formula 1 after becoming the first Chinese F1 driver in 2022.

He lost his place on the grid when Sauber, which will become the Audi F1 team in 2026, opted to completely refresh its driver lineup for 2025 with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Zhou had previously been part of Ferrari’s driver academy between 2015 and 2018, with the team’s press release referring to his signing as “something of a homecoming.”

Giovinazzi has been a Ferrari reserve driver since he was replaced at Sauber (then known as Alfa Romeo) by Zhou in 2022.

Alongside the reserve role in F1, the Italian will continue to race for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship.