Andrea Stella is aware that young McLaren F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto is attracting the attention of Audi. The Woking team principal notes that the young Brazilian is showing progress that justifies the interest he is attracting.
“I tell Gabriel the same thing as I tell the team: don’t look at the standings, but constantly think about the checkered flag, and take one race at a time with both feet on the ground.” said Stella.
“And he does it for me like Oscar [Piastri]it’s not just the ability and execution when he’s in the car, from a driving perspective. It’s also the humility of these guys, their willingness to learn by working with the team, they’re never arrogant.”
“And when you combine talent with hard work and those type of values and attitude, I think that’s where you can grow as a driver. Gabriel is another example of rapid growth.”
“If you think about the beginning of his F2 campaign, he had problems at times, not necessarily due to his driving, we had some problems, but he didn’t give up. He didn’t give up, and now he’s building step by step.”
Stella explained that the idea for McLaren is to keep Bortoleto under contract, without putting obstacles in his way: “If Binotto came to me, when you have such talent, you are certainly not going to stop him from having a chance in F1. We will certainly be interested in finding a way to keep him in the McLaren family.”
“Because I think he is a talent that in the future could be important for McLaren. We are secure in the long term with our two drivers, we could not be happier. But certainly we would like to keep him in the McLaren family.”
Bortoleto is not the only young driver Mattia Binotto is eyeing for Audi F1. The Italian has also been in contact with Williams F1 boss James Vowles over a loan for Franco Colapinto. With two credible options on the table, Binotto will therefore have a little negotiating power, not to mention the choice of experience that is always possible with Valtteri Bottas.
