Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi have simply been introduced as Ferrari’s reserve drivers for 2025, however it’s unlikely both will ever drive for the F1 crew.
Reserve drivers are a vital member of an F1 crew. They sometimes perform simulator work to help the race crew throughout grand prix weekends and carry out chosen testing duties over the course of the 12 months.
Importantly, they’re prepared to face in as a again up choice for a crew if certainly one of their common drivers can not race. This isn’t as uncommon an incidence as it could appear, as a number of cases in latest seasons have proved.
On Wednesday Sauber outcast Zhou was confirmed as certainly one of two reserve drivers for Ferrari, however that doesn’t essentially imply both will ever really race within the iconic crimson overalls.
Zhou has successfully changed Oliver Bearman as Ferrari’s reserve driver for 2025 after the Briton secured a full-time seat with Haas.
Welcoming Zhou Guanyu again to the Ferrari household as he joins Antonio Giovinazzi as our official reserve driver! Zhou spent 4 years with the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy from 2015 to 2018, and can break up reserve driver duties with Antonio for the 2025 season pic.twitter.com/54OLL5uJm7
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 5, 2025
Whereas Bearman is not an official Ferrari reserve driver, it’s seemingly they might flip to him in the event that they required a sudden stand-in for both Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc.
In any case, Bearman already has expertise doing precisely that when he was referred to as up in Saudi Arabia final 12 months as an emergency substitute for Carlos Sainz, who had appendicitis.
At simply 18 years outdated, Bearman grew to become the youngest Briton to start out an F1 race. He certified eleventh and went on to complete seventh forward of seven-time world champion Hamilton.
Bearman additionally scored factors for Haas in one other tremendous sub cameo for Haas in Azerbaijan when Kevin Magnussen was serving a race ban.
Given Ferrari already know what Bearman can do, and he’s seen as a future star for the crew, one would suppose he can be the popular alternative. Haas would seemingly oblige given their shut technical collaboration with Ferrari (and the actual fact Bearman is successfully on mortgage to the crew consequently).
In such a state of affairs, Ferrari would make Zhou or Giovinazzi accessible to Haas, who may additionally name upon the providers of Magnussen – offering he doesn’t have clashing sportscar commitments – or Pietro Fittipaldi, who has twice stood in for the American outfit.
It could not be the primary time such a state of affairs has performed out.
George Russell was unlucky to not win on his Mercedes debut again in 2020
Again in 2020 when Hamilton was compelled to withdraw from the Bahrain Grand Prix after testing optimistic for COVID-19, Mercedes referred to as up then Williams driver George Russell to switch him.
Russell was not an official Mercedes reserve on the time and the 2 groups shared the same association to the one Ferrari and Haas have with Bearman.
On that event, Williams changed Russell with their reserve Jack Aitken after a deal between the 2 events was struck in a single day.
It could not be a shock to see Ferrari do the identical with Bearman in the event that they wanted a last-minute substitution.
