“The pace we had today I think is about where we are at the moment,” Zhou conceded. “[We] tried a different tyre to start compared to my team mate, hoping for something maybe happening with the Safety Car, but in a smooth race I think it’s really difficult to pick up further ground [from] where we were.
“But at least we were together with the pace with the guys around us – the Haas, I think the pace is quite similar, and also [with the] Alpines we [were] able to have matching pace at some stages of the race, but clearly not enough.”
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With just two seats left on the 2025 grid – one of those being at Kick Sauber – Zhou admitted that it has been difficult to show what he is capable of given the team’s recent difficulties.
“Yeah, it’s been a struggle especially from my side this year, but I think everybody understands how much we’ve been struggling together with the package,” the 25-year-old said.
“Of course at the moment I’m aware it’s very important [that] I’m hoping for some points, but this year we’ve been searching for that. At the moment it feels still a bit far from that.”
