Zhou Guanyu of Sauber expressed his surprise at Carlos Sainz’s ongoing uncertainty about 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 has reportedly entered the race to sign him at the last minute. Two weeks after the Spanish GP, Sainz is still considering his options, including Sauber, Zhou’s current team.
Zhou, like many others, is waiting for Sainz to make a move so that he can make plans for the future beyond 2025. “We are all waiting for Carlos to make decisions, but we are also talking to different teams to understand where I will go,” Zhou said. “It is clear that Sainz is currently a priority in the market, but things are still open, and at this point, I still feel confident that I will have a chance somewhere. Honestly, I find it a bit difficult to understand because it is not that difficult to make a decision. You are not really making a decision between teams fighting for a World Championship; you are making a decision between mid-runner teams, 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 that Sainz’s indecision is delaying everyone’s decision-making process and thinks that teams and drivers will eventually get tired of waiting for him. “I see that the teams have some deadlines because you can’t just wait for someone else to make their mind clear,” Zhou said.
Zhou’s impatience contrasts with the more relaxed attitude of his Sauber teammate Valtteri Bottas, who believes that waiting for the Sainz domino to fall is just part of the sport. Bottas, a 10-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner, is more experienced and therefore more confident about his position on next year’s Formula 1 grid. “It’s actually exciting,” Bottas said. “I mean, it’s part of the sport, and we’re still in July. I’ve been in situations before where I had to wait until September or October. So, I think we’re still in a decent situation. If you were to ask me in October if we were still in this situation, then it might start to get frustrating, but in July, not really.”
