Guanyu Zhou could be on track for a return to Formula 1 in 2026 with the newly approved Cadillac team, thanks to a key managerial connection.
Zhou, who is losing his race seat with Audi-Sauber for 2025, recently revealed that Ferrari is "very interested" in signing him as a reserve driver. However, Swiss journalist Roger Benoit suggests that the Chinese driver may have another path back to the grid.
"Zhou is hoping for a seat on the new Cadillac team, with Ferrari power, in 2026," Benoit wrote in Blick. "The reason is simple: Zhou's manager, Graeme Lowdon, is to become team boss for the Americans. He was previously the team boss of Marussia in Formula 1."
Cadillac, backed by General Motors, is set to become F1's twelfth team in 2026, taking over from the overtly Andretti-branded bid that initially faced serious resistance.
While F1 has approved Cadillac's entry, existing teams remain uneasy about the impact on commercial revenue distribution. Reports suggest that the usual $200 million anti-dilution fee for new teams has been significantly increased to $450 million or more.
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack commented on the situation: "I don't have much information about it, to be honest. I think we just have to trust F1, the FIA, on how this is going to go.
"I don't know about what payments are being made or have to be made," Krack added.
