In 2014, Zhou joined the
Ferrari Driver Academy while competing in karting. He left the academy at the end of 2018 and joined the
Renault Sport Academy the following year ahead of his move into
Formula 2. He served as a development driver for the
Renault F1 Team in 2019 and took part in an
R.S.17 testing programme, driving at five different circuits during the year. He was promoted to the role of Test Driver in 2020. He participated in the
Virtual Grand Prix Series—an
esports competition organised by Formula One in place of races postponed or cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic—and won the first race held at the
Bahrain International Circuit. Once the season resumed, Zhou took part in three test sessions driving the
Renault R.S.18, including the post-season test at
Yas Marina Circuit alongside
Fernando Alonso. Zhou remained part of the rebranded
Alpine Academy for and made his Formula One race weekend debut for
Alpine F1 Team, driving the
A521 during the first practice session of the . This made him the second driver from
Mainland China to participate in a Grand Prix weekend session after
Ma Qinghua.
Alfa Romeo / Sauber (2022–2024) 2022: First Chinese Formula One driver Zhou signed a three-year contract with
Alfa Romeo for , partnering
Valtteri Bottas and becoming China's first Formula One race driver. In a press release following the announcement, Zhou stated that he was "well prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1" and that his entry into the series would be "a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history". He chose 24 as his permanent racing number to honour his sporting hero
Kobe Bryant, who wore the number during his
basketball career with the
Los Angeles Lakers. He qualified fifteenth on his debut at the , but recovered from a poor start in the race to finish tenth, scoring a point. in , becoming the first Chinese
Formula One driver in the sport's history. Seven races without points followed. A collision with
Pierre Gasly eliminated him from the sprint, which was followed by mechanical retirements at the
Miami and
Spanish Grands Prix. A hydraulics issue at the caused his third retirement in four races. At the , Zhou reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time and finished the race eighth, scoring points for the second time. At the next race, the , he was involved in a high-speed collision with
George Russell on the opening lap that caused Zhou's car to flip upside-down, skid across the track and gravel and bounce over the barriers into the
catch fence. He was extracted and taken to the medical centre, and then declared fit after being observed. Zhou later commented that the
halo saved his life during the crash. More mechanical problems followed; he was required to start the sprint from the pit lane after an engine issue on the formation lap, and another power unit issue caused his retirement from the . He scored another point by finishing tenth at the , which ended behind the
safety car. A collision with
Nicholas Latifi ended his race at the . He finished sixteenth at the rain-shortened , but a late pit stop for new tyres allowed him to claim the
fastest lap for the first time in his career. Zhou ended the season eighteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with six points to teammate Bottas's 49.
2023: Continued struggles with machinery Zhou remained with Alfa Romeo for alongside Bottas. During the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, he set the fastest lap time of 1:31.610. He qualified thirteenth at the season-opening and finished sixteenth, having made a pit stop for soft tyres on the penultimate lap to claim the fastest lap of the race. Alfa Romeo later explained that this was done to deny rivals Alpine and ninth-placed Pierre Gasly the bonus point. Zhou claimed his first points-scoring finish of the season at the with ninth place, having started seventeenth. This was followed by a mechanical retirement at the . He scored points again at the , starting thirteenth and finishing ninth. He achieved his best Formula One qualifying performance at the , setting the fastest Q1 time and then qualifying fifth. He was slow off the start line and was then involved in a first-corner collision for which he received a time penalty; he went on to finish the race sixteenth. Zhou started fifteenth on the grid at the but a call to change to intermediate tyres after lap one promoted him as high as second place. He eventually dropped outside the top ten and later crashed out of the race when the rain returned. Zhou qualified nineteenth at the and was required to start from the pit lane as his car was modified in
parc fermé. Despite "unfortunate" safety car timing, he recovered to twelfth after "an epic stint on the medium tyres". Zhou qualified last on the grid at the , but benefitted from
Carlos Sainz Jr.'s failure to start, a collision between
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and other drivers' struggles with the extreme heat to take ninth place in the main race, his third points finish of the season. He reached Q3 in qualifying at the , but was unable to hold off the cars behind and was classified fourteenth at the finish. He qualified in last place at the and retired from the race with engine issues. Zhou finished eighteenth in the World Drivers' Championship with six points, an identical result to 2022. Teammate Bottas scored ten points and qualified ahead of Zhou at fifteen of the twenty-two races.
Autosport praised Zhou for "holding his own" against Bottas but identified qualifying as an area for improvement, and
RaceFans described his performance in 2023 as "professional if unspectacular".
2024: Only points scored for Sauber Zhou and Bottas were retained at the team for the
2024 season. Following the end of
Sauber's partnership with
Alfa Romeo, the team rebranded to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber to accommodate the sponsorship of
Stake.com and
Kick. Zhou completed the race in his home city of
Shanghai for the first time in April as the
Chinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the 2024 season. Zhou improved from seventeenth on the grid to eleventh at the finish at the opening race, the . He crashed in the final practice session at the and the team were unable to repair his car in time to set a qualifying lap; he finished the race last of the running drivers in eighteenth place. He damaged his front wing in qualifying at the and was forced to start the race from the pit lane due to a different specification replacement part being fitted; the team had not brought spares of the current design to Australia. He finished the race fifteenth. This was followed by a gearbox-related retirement at the after qualifying in last place. At the
2024 Chinese Grand Prix, he finished his first home race in 14th place. After the race, he was given a special parking spot on the grid to celebrate the completion of his first ever home race in front of the Chinese crowd. Zhou finished 16th in the
2024 Monaco Grand Prix after a three-car collision between
Nico Hülkenberg,
Sergio Pérez and
Kevin Magnussen. Zhou avoided the accident but managed to continue. Zhou out-qualified
Valtteri Bottas for the
British Grand Prix. He was last of the finishers after home hero
George Russell and
Alpine's
Pierre Gasly retired. Zhou finished ahead of Bottas in the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix while Bottas finished 16th after the race was neutralised on lap 50 which occurred a high-speed collision between
Carlos Sainz Jr. and
Sergio Pérez. He scored Sauber's only points of the 2024 season at the , qualifying twelfth and finishing eighth after two
safety cars, and was voted Driver of the Day. Zhou left Sauber at the end of the season, with
Nico Hülkenberg and
Gabriel Bortoleto joining for , prior to their takeover by
Audi.
Ferrari reserve driver (2025) Zhou joined
Ferrari as a reserve driver for the season. At the start of 2026, it was announced that he would not continue in his role with the team for the season.
Cadillac reserve driver (2026) In January 2026, it was announced that Zhou would join
Cadillac as a reserve driver for the team's
maiden season. ==Karting record==