Zhou lost his drive at Sauber as the Swiss-based operation signed Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

The pair are on multi-year deals and will be the Audi’s foundation drivers when it formally joins the F1 grid next season.

That decision left Zhou and teammate Valtteri Bottas sidelined.

Zhou made his F1 debut in 2022 following a year as reserve driver at Alpine.

He recorded a point on debut in Bahrain in 2022 and contributed Sauber’s only points of the 2024 campaign.

The 25-year-old has strong backing from his homeland, though suggestions his sponsors were willing to pay AUD $50 million for a drive with Haas this season are understood to be inflated.

However, it demonstrates the backing Zhou has, with China a key and growing market for car companies.

Speaking in late 2024, when his future was still in doubt, Zhou refused to consider an alternate category of racing this year.

“I still want to be staying here because I do feel, with a lot of rookies joining the teams, there’s a lot of opportunities that could happen for ’26 onwards, so I still want to stay here,” he reasoned.

“It won’t be a long period that I try to stay on in a reserve role before I take another series, but I do still try to get [back onto the grid] as much as I possibly can and hopefully waiting for a good opportunity to come back.”

That has seen him join Ferrari as reserve driver alongside Antonio Giovinazzi – the man Zhou replaced at Sauber.

Longer term, however, there are suggestions the Chinese driver is on a shortlist of candidates for Cadillac.

The operation is still in the process of finalising its entry into the 2026 championship and is some way from making driver decisions.

However, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has been instrumental in Zhou’s career and is part of his management team.

Cadillac has a presence in China and views the country as an important market for the brand.

Cadillac has sold more cars in China every year since 2017, while the broader General Motors group has offered Chinese-specific models for decades.

Zhou therefore offers a tempting blend of F1 experience and commercial leverage in a key market for the American organisation.