Zhou surprised by Sainz’s continued uncertainty over his 2025 Formula 1 plans

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu has expressed surprise at Carlos Sainz’s continued uncertainty over his Formula 1 future. While the rest of the driver market waits for Sainz to make a decision, he was expected to sign with Williams during the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend, but Alpine reportedly jumped into the race to sign him at the last minute. Two weeks after the Spanish GP, Sainz is still weighing his options, including Zhou’s current team Sauber.

Zhou, like many others, is waiting for Sainz to make a step forward so he can plan his future beyond 2025. “We are all waiting for Carlos to make decisions, but we are also talking to different teams to understand where I am going to go,” Zhou said. “It is clear that Sainz is currently a priority on the market, but things are still open, and at this stage I am still confident that I will have a chance somewhere. Honestly, I find it a little difficult to understand because it is not that difficult to make a decision. You are not really making a decision between teams that are fighting for a world championship; you are making a decision between teams in the middle of a race, and it depends on where you want to go. I don’t know what he is thinking, but we are just waiting for him.” Zhou believes Sainz’s indecision is delaying everyone’s decision-making process and believes that teams and drivers will eventually get tired of waiting for him. “I see teams have deadlines to meet, because you can’t just wait for someone else to come out and say clearly,” Zhou said.

Zhou’s impatience contrasts with the more relaxed attitude of his Sauber team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who believes that waiting for Sainz’s domino to fall is part of the sport. Bottas, a ten-time Formula One grand prix winner, is more experienced and therefore more confident about his position on the Formula One grid next year. “It’s really exciting,” Bottas said. “I mean, it’s part of the sport, and it’s still July. I’ve had situations where I’ve had to wait until September or October. So I think we’re still in a decent situation. If you asked me in October if we were still in this situation, it might start to get frustrating, but in July, not really.”