Gabriel Bortoleto can take a deep breath, he will indeed be on the Formula 1 grid in 2025. A serious candidate for the last seat at stake at Sauber, the Brazilian ended up obtaining the favors of new director Mattia Binotto, leaving Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas on the floor.
However, the road to reaching this starting position was very long given his season. Leader of F2 at the moment, Auriverde had started his campaign very badly with only 12 points in the first three rounds and almost 50 lengths behind Zane Maloney, then leading the championship. To the point of not imagining a future in F1, at least in the short term.
« We hadn't had any discussions or anything about next year (at this point in the season), explains Gabriel Bortoleto. We even thought about repeating the year. But at one point there was a turning point. » And suddenly, the results kept coming and the person concerned erased all his lead to take control during the last round contested in Baku in September.
Not considered until a few months ago, the Paulist then became a serious contender for a rise in F1, helped by the very good performances of his comrades in the big leagues like Franco Colapinto or Oliver Bearman, capable to achieve good results quickly. “ I started winning races and getting on podiumshe remembers. Then this Audi story appeared. I don't remember exactly but we started talking.
[Mattia] didn't really know if he wanted an experienced driver or a young one for next season, but the plan was always to work together. [Il s’agissait simplement de savoir] if it was for 2025 or 2026. I didn't have a problem. I haven't been too stressed, and it's not going to change anything in my current life, because I already knew things were going to happen in the future. »
The rest of his career assured, Gabriel Bortoleto must now complete his F2 campaign at the end of which he can win the title as a rookie, a year after having achieved a similar feat in F3. The confirmation of his tenure thus allows him to “ to focus » fully on Formula 2 while he is only 4.5 points ahead of his runner-up Isack Hadjar.
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