Zhou Guanyu has admitted to a sense of relief following confirmation that he will depart the Stake F1 at the end of the season. Earlier this month, Stake confirmed it had signed Formula 2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto to partner Nico Hulkenberg ahead of the team's 2026 transition to Audi. Bortoleto's signing established that both Zhou and team-mate Valtteri Bottas would be departing at the Hinwil-based squad - an outcome the Chinese driver voiced surprise over. “I saw things were not happening the way I wanted [them] to be, and I saw this coming,” Zhou told media including RacingNews365 . “I still had this conversation with Mattia over the past week before the announcement. “Once things keep getting delayed, you know something is coming. I'm a little bit shocked both drivers didn’t get picked. Obviously, they [Stake/Audi] have their own view on that.”
Zhou has endured a difficult season at the Stake team, with the ongoing campaign his third in F1. He has largely been stuck at the back end of the grid, starting 11 of the 21 races so far from the final row. His best result was an 11th place at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with Stake yet to score a single point this year. Zhou has asserted his lack of competitive form throughout the campaign resulted in a sense of relief when he was informed of the team's decision regarding its driver line-up. “For me, as much as I would love to stay on the grid, it's kind of a relief after the season I had,” he said. “The second part of the season, I've been struggling a lot with the car together, with myself [and] confidence over one lap and then not having the upgrades over the many races. “It’s a good time for me to take a year not on the grid, and hopefully I still can stand a chance coming back.”
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