Can Gabriel Bortoleto end up at Sauber / Audi F1? McLaren CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that his young Brazilian driver will not be considered if given the opportunity to make his F1 debut with another team.
But the American also seems to suggest that Fernando Alonso’s protégé is no longer really considered Mattia Binotto’s first option.
“Yes, he is a great racing driver. For now our priority is to help him win the Formula 2 championship,”
“So that’s what we’re focusing a lot on. We don’t have any vacancies with us directly. We’re obviously very happy with our two Grand Prix drivers, and we would never want to stop a racing driver from moving up in F1.”
“So we’ll see how things go, but we’re focused on winning the championship and not holding him back if we can’t give him an opportunity in Formula 1, which seems unlikely at the moment, in light of the latest discussions that Mattia seems to be having.”
Bortoleto is managed by one of its former drivers, Alonso, who is about to celebrate his 400 Grand Prix in F1. Austin marks his 400th entry but his 396th official Grand Prix (where he was able to start). Brown also praised the Spaniard.
“Fernando is awesome. He’s one of my favorite racing drivers. He’s a real racing driver.”
“He wants to race on every circuit possible and his concentration is incredible. To have this level of talent in Formula 1 for so long is impressive. He is capable of winning Grands Prix and the World Championship in a racing car competitive, and so you have to admire him for doing the Dakar and Le Mans and for jumping into the Indy 500.”
“He reminds us of the days when Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney were jumping around from one discipline to another. I’m a big fan of Fernando and I love watching him race, and he’s a tough opponent.”
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