Bernie Ecclestone and his wife revealed they had “help” Gabriel Bortoleto to join the Formula 1 grid for 2025 and beyond.
The Audi-owned Sauber team finally announced last week that Valtteri Bottas would be ousted at the end of the season and replaced by Bortoleto, a 20-year-old Brazilian.
Ecclestone, the famous former F1 boss, now retires on a Brazilian coffee plantation and is married to Fabiana Flosi, who is now one of the FIA vice-presidents for sport.
“Bortoleto's father thanked us for our help in bringing his son Gabriel to Audi-Sauber,” Fabiana told Swiss newspaper Blick. “We opened a few doors there.”
Bernie added: “What is important for him now is that he is looking for an apartment near the Sauber factory.”
It also appears that Audi is selling a minority stake in the Swiss-based F1 team to Qatar's sovereign wealth fund (read here). Ultimately, this could also lead to a main sponsorship agreement with Qatar Airways.
A Sauber spokesperson has since responded: “We do not participate in speculation. The team is not for sale.”
Ecclestone admits to being surprised that Sauber, the only F1 team not based in the UK or Italy, still exists.
“I once told Peter (Sauber) that Switzerland was an island for Formula 1 and I admire his perseverance. Now Audi is coming, but in the current situation the Germans may not even be unhappy that people from Qatar are interested in the new project and want to get involved.”
