Here’s a wild headline we published today : F1 teenager Kimi Antonelli just got his driver’s license — right on time to replace Lewis Hamilton. You read that right. Antonelli didn’t even have a road license when he was picked as the successor to one of F1’s greatest drivers last fall. Have I ever mentioned that this is a silly sport?

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 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.

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

New Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyu is set to become a serious candidate to join the new Cadillac F1 team for the F1 2026 season. Ferrari confirmed on Wednesday that Zhou has joined the team’s roster of reserve drivers for F1 2025,

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

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.