Zhou Guanyu Reverts to Old Chassis Amidst Recent Struggles, Ahead of Spanish Grand Prix
In a bid to rectify his recent struggles, Zhou Guanyu will return to his old Formula 1 chassis, used until the 2024 Imola round, after his Sauber team identified an issue with his newer one. The Chinese driver has endured a difficult period since switching to a second chassis of the season at Imola, including a Monaco practice shunt and two crashes at Montreal, which resulted in him being the only lapped finisher at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Zhou revealed that the problems he faced with his newer chassis felt “strange or a little bit shocking” behind the wheel, particularly on bumpy tracks. “I find the car is very stiff over the bumps,” Zhou explained to reporters in the Barcelona paddock on Thursday. “So, I wasn’t able to push. For example, the mistake I did in FP3 in Montreal, that was just really bad. Suddenly you hit the bumps, the car is just spinning around.”
To resolve the issue, Sauber will replace “every part, just making sure we start from scratch” in terms of the bodywork pieces it has built up around his old chassis. Zhou emphasized that this was necessary because “you don’t know exactly if the problem is just the chassis.” The team’s decision to make such a drastic change comes at the start of a long, intense run of European rounds, with five races set to take place in the next six weekends.
Zhou also highlighted the importance of addressing the issue ahead of the Austrian outing next up after Barcelona, given the Red Bull Ring’s “a little bit more bumpiness on the braking.” When asked if Sauber had spotted a similar problem with track bumps on team-mate Valtteri Bottas’s car, Zhou initially remained tight-lipped but conceded that “the bumps I felt, and the way how the car responds, is a bit more extreme than what’s happening to his side of the garage.”
“So, that’s why we made a decision to change,” Zhou added. “I think it’s the right call, and I’m really happy to get it done. Because it’s not easy for the team just to commit to that. But I think once we commit to that, hopefully it’s the right call. And it only can be made better.”
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