Cadillac teases imminent driver announcement with cryptic social media post
Valtteri Bottas spent the 2025 season in a Mercedes reserve role
Rumours that Zhou Guanyu is to become Cadillac’s F1 2026 reserve driver have entered overdrive after the team issued a cryptic post on social media.
Zhou became the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 with Sauber in 2022, making a total of 68 grand prix starts before leaving with the Swiss team at the end of 2024.
Cadillac set to sign Zhou Guanyu as F1 2026 reserve driver
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The 26-year-old spent last season as Ferrari’s reserve driver, acting as backup to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Ferrari and Zhou revealed earlier this week that they have parted ways ahead of the F1 2026 campaign.
It came amid speculation that Zhou is set to link up with Cadillac, whose team principal Graeme Lowdon also acts as his manager.
And Cadillac has dropped a huge hint that Zhou is to join the team by teasing an announcement on Monday.
The team posted a close-up image of a cat’s eye featuring the number 24 – Zhou’s official race number during his F1 stint with Sauber – alongside a Cadillac logo.
Monday’s date – January 5 2026 – appears in the corner of the image, which has the accompanying caption: “Reflections of the future.”
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were announced as Cadillac’s first-ever F1 driver lineup in August last year, with IndyCar star Colton Herta joining as third driver ahead of his first season in F2 with Hitech.
With Herta lacking an F1 superlicence, however, Cadillac has been forced to find a driver with recent Formula 1 experience to act as its official reserve option.
A move to Cadillac would see Zhou reunite with his former Sauber teammate Bottas at F1’s newest team.
Zhou, who carried out a number of TPC [Testing of Previous Car] outings with Ferrari last year, has made no secret of his desire to regain an F1 race seat since being dropped by Sauber at the end of 2024.
In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com last October, before his departure from Ferrari was announced, Zhou aired his belief that “opportunities” to return to F1 on a full-time basis will come his way.
He said: “I think it’s very important to work with different people, different teams, so they understand your abilities.
“When I came here [to Ferrari], a lot of people didn’t know the driver I was and the engineers are quite positive with all the feedback and the stuff I was able to bring, feedback with data, analysing, all of that.
“I think it’s important just to stay in the paddock, but let more people understand the driver you are, because sometimes when you obviously stay in the same team for three years, coming straight from F2, probably only the people working with you understand how you are, but then you need to kind of let the whole paddock understand to give you a big opportunity.
“That’s what I’m here for. I still feel like there are opportunities.
“We’re speaking to people and we’re trying to understand what are the opportunities.
“I’m focused on the role I’m doing with Ferrari, but then it’s just to let other people understand the door is always open when they need me and that’s it.
“Obviously, I think this year or next year are the big two years, especially next year, when there’s new regulation changes.
“But then there are a lot of drivers that will be a question mark for their future as well, so that’s where I think the opportunities will come.
“But right now, I’m just happy where I am. Obviously, I would love to be back on the grid for next year.
“But if not, I will just continue waiting for another year and see what happens.
“People know what I can do. Certain things didn’t go to plan for the seat I was probably fighting for.
“But then, in general, I think people understand what I can do and understand I’m available.
“Different teams want a different kind of driver for them and it’s not up to me who can decide.”
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As reported by PlanetF1.com earlier this week, Jack Doohan is another reserve driver expected to be on the move for F1 2026.
Doohan started last season with Alpine before losing his place to Franco Colapinto, with the Australian seemingly bidding farewell to the Enstone team at the close of 2025.
Doohan is set to become Haas’s new reserve driver for the new season, balancing his commitments with a Toyota-backed drive in the Japan-based Super Formula series.
Toyota has strengthened its ties to Haas ahead of 2026 having entered a technical partnership with the team in October 2024.
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