Zhou Guanyu is searching for a spot on the 2026 grid (Image: Getty)
exclaimed ‘See you f***ing later’ after completing an impressive overtake on at the . The Argentinian driver had previously insinuated that the Sauber star was the weakest on the grid.
Zhou enjoyed one of his strongest races of the season in Las Vegas last weekend and was even running in the points before a Sauber strategy call jeopardised his chances of a top-10 finish. The Chinese racer eventually crossed the line in P13 for his second-best finish of the year.
This year has been a miserable one for Sauber with neither Zhou nor team-mate Valtteri Bottas able to score a point. Even more worrying has been the 25-year-old’s qualifying form – he has been outqualified by his Finnish colleague in 20 of the 22 Grands Prix in 2024.
Colapinto then rubbed salt in the wounds when he insinuated that the Sauber man was the least threatening team-mate possible in F1. “I don’t care who I have next to me – whether it’s Verstappen or Zhou, I want to beat them and be ahead of them,” he told sponsor Quilmes.
Zhou at least enjoyed a little bit of revenge in Las Vegas. After overtaking the Williams driver with a sharp dart to the inside, he hit back with a cathartic radio message: “See you f***ing later Colapinto.”
Don’t miss…
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
Franco Colapinto got some payback for his comments about Zhou (Image: Getty)
Such a troublesome run of form meant that Zhou was never seriously in the conversation to remain at Sauber for 2024, but the Shanghai-born driver has no plans to give up on his F1 dream. He is targeting a reserve role with a pathway to getting back on the grid in 2026.
Zhou could even be in line for a return to , whose junior team he raced for during his early days in the F1 feeder series. “We’re talking to several teams and, of course, remains one of the teams really interested in me,” he said in Las Vegas.
More F1… [VERDICT] [STORY]
“We need to see, obviously there’s a lot of things coming up with the next few weekends for us to make a decision, but it’s clear we are going through all the options we have and seeing where we are.
“From my side, I don’t want to commit to the future just yet because I want to make sure everything is set down and is clear, and have a massive commitment to the next project. Hopefully, something will be happening and decided soon. I think somewhere around the next few weeks I will have a clear idea.”