22 Grands Prix and six races without points – and in the 23rd race Sauber finally broke the knot. Zhou Guanyu surprisingly comes in 8th place and scores four points for the bottom team.
Not one, not two, not three – the Sauber team scored four points in Qatar. All four points from the only team without a score up to that point went to Guanyu Zhou.
Zhou: “What a race! I’m happy for the whole team! Today was about powering up and that’s what we did. We had great speed, stayed clean, executed the strategy perfectly and passed at the right time. It’s a big help for everyone involved.”
Good day to the Chinese! He was even chosen as the driver of the day by the fans. After 22 useless and unlucky races, Sauber won four times and Zhou eighth place! What also helped, however, was that five drivers failed to finish. Two-thirds of the field scored straight points.
Zhou: “Finally getting the points feels like a great reward for the hard work and consistency we have shown throughout the season. When you look at where we started and the opposition we had to face, it means a lot more.”
After a great race of 7,500 km without any points, finally a big prize!
For Zhou it is the best result of his work. Speaking of careers – the Formula 1 career of China’s only regular driver so far may end this season. Or? Sauber did not renew his contract. But since the entry of Cadillac or General Motors or Andretti has been completed, Zhou’s name has been repeatedly associated with the eleventh team from 2026. The Qatar GP should not be an obstacle to this.
Although Zhou’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas ended up out of the points in 11th place and thus still has zero points, the Finn was able to at least give the red light: Bottas finally passed Logan Sargeant (formerly Williams), who was laid up. away since summer. With his eleventh place, the score is now 1:1 in the snail’s race of those without points. Because Bottas has collected 13 more positions this season than Sargeant, Bottas has finally moved up to 22nd in the drivers’ standings.
Qatar-GP, Losail International Circuit
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:31:05,323 h
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +6,031 sec
03. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +6.819
04. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +14,104
05. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +16,782
06. Carlos Sainz (L), Ferrari, +17,476
07. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +19,867
08. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, +25,360
09. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +32.177
10. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +35.762
11. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, +50.243
12. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +56,122
13. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bull, +1:01,100 min
14. Liam Lawson (NZ), Racing Bulls, +1:02,656
15. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +1 Round
outside
Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, turner
Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, Antriebschaden
Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, collision damage
Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, accident
Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, Unfall
World Championship Standings (after 23 out of 24 Grands Prix and 6 out of 6 Sprints)
the driver
01. Verstappen 429 points
02. Norris 349
03. Leclerc 341
04. Plate 291
05. Sainz 272
06. Russell 235
07. Hamilton 211
08. Perez 152
09. Alonso 68
10. Hulkenberg 37
11. Gas 36
12. Tsunoda 30
13. Walk 24
14. Ocon 23
15. Magnussen 16
16. Albon 12
17. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 12
18. Oliver Bearman (GB) 7
19. Colapinto 5
20. Zhou 4
21. Lawson 4
22. Bota 0
23. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0
Builders Cup
01. McLaren 640 points
02. Ferrari 619
03. Red Bull 581 Racing
04. Mercedes 446
05. Aston Martin 92
06. Alpine 59
07. Haas 54
08. Racing Bull 46
09. Williams 17
10. Sauber 4
