McLaren F1 has sent a statement to the media after Stake F1/Audi announced the signing of Gabriel Bortoleto this morning (read here).
The Brazilian had been a member of the McLaren driver development program since October 2023 after winning the F3 drivers' title. He is also leading F2 and on course to win the title at the end of the season. He currently leads the standings by 4.5 points over Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar, with rounds still remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Bortoleto has been released from the youth program according to the Woking team.
“Gabriel Bortoleto will be released from the McLaren driver development program at the end of the 2024 season to pursue a new opportunity in his career.”
“It has been a pleasure working with Gabriel over the past year and being able to contribute to his success and growth as a driver through the McLaren Driver Development Program.”
“We have a strong driver line-up with Lando and Oscar, and so we have always been clear that we would not stand in the way of an opportunity for Gabriel to progress until we are able to offer him a seat at McLaren.”
“We will continue to support Gabriel in his Formula 2 title campaign in 2024 and wish him the best for his career beyond F2.”
