Zhou Guan Yu to return to old 2024 F1 chassis in Barcelona

Zhou Guan Yu will revert to the Sauber Formula 1 car he used before Imola for the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, as his new chassis failed to deliver the expected performance gains.

Zhou Guan Yu, Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Since Sauber introduced a new chassis for its car at Imola, Zhou has struggled with its handling, crashing three times across Monaco and Canada – significantly impacting his race results on Sundays.

The Chinese driver revealed ahead of this weekend’s Spanish GP that he had felt “strange or shocked” while driving the car since swapping to his second chassis of the season, especially on very bumpy tracks where he lacked confidence in using the kerbs.

“I found the car very stiff on the bumps,” Zhou explained. “So, I couldn’t push. For example, the mistake in FP3 in Montreal was terrible. Suddenly you hit a bump and the car starts spinning. It’s something quite strange or a bit shocking.

“But before this weekend, we’ve made a lot of changes, going back to a different specification to make sure I get at least the feeling from the beginning of the season. Because what I have now is completely different. So, I’m looking forward to this weekend because it’s like a new style, more like starting from scratch. I changed the chassis in Imola, and quite a few parts. So now we’re changing everything back.”

Zhou also divulged that Sauber will switch “every single part” on his car to ensure a fresh start, including bodywork built around the old chassis, as the team is unsure if the issue lies solely with the chassis.

With nine races completed, Sauber is currently the only team without points in the 2024 season. The Spanish GP marks the start of a triple-header, followed by a week’s break before the back-to-back races in Hungary and Belgium ahead of the summer break, meaning five grands prix in six weeks.

Therefore, the timing of Sauber’s significant modification to Zhou’s car in Barcelona is crucial, with the Red Bull Ring – another track with high brake-bumping – coming up next weekend. The team hopes to identify and address the problem before Austria.

When asked if Sauber had detected similar issues with Valtteri Bottas’ car, Zhou didn’t want to go into details but acknowledged that his experience was “a bit more severe” than his teammate’s.

“That’s why we decided to make the change,” the young Chinese driver added. “I think it’s the right decision, and I’m happy to do so. Because it’s not easy for the team to do that. But I believe once we make that decision, hopefully, it’s the right one and can improve things.”