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

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?

Ferrari announced their reserve drivers for the upcoming season on Wednesday, pairing current reserve Antonio Giovinazzi with Zhou. This is a homecoming for Zhou, who was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2015 to 2018 while competing in the F4 and F3 ranks.

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

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.

China's first F1 driver raced for 3 seasons with Sauber, starting 68 races and scoring 16 points with 2 fastest laps. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Ferrari reinstates Zhou Guanyu as a Formula One reserve driver following his departure from Sauber. Zhou, China's first F1 driver, shares the reserve role with Antonio Giovinazzi. He also maintains connections with a new General Motors-backed team planning a 2026 F1 entry.

The Chinese Formula 1 driver has now announced that he will return to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season as a reserve driver.

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