Alonso praises his protégé Bortoleto: "The best of the new generation"

Fernando Alonso has not yet experienced the joy of having children, but the double world champion will be able to develop his fatherly instincts this year with the arrival on the grid of Formula 1 of his protégé, Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian joined A14, Fernando Alonso's management agency, after driving with FA Racing, the team created by the Spaniard, during his first year in FRECA.

Since then, the Paulista has climbed the ladder at full speed, winning the Formula 3 for its first season in 2023, then the Formula 2 last year, beating Isack Hadjar in the final round in Abu Dhabi. This exceptional one-two finish propelled him to Sauber in Formula 1, which puts him on the grid with his mentor, who is full of praise for him.

"His debut was very impressive, very good, but no surprises. He is the best of the new generation."Listen to Fernando Alonso. "He's been working really hard all winter, and I think Melbourne isn't the easiest track to make your debut at. The race in particular was very complicated for everyone, so it was a tough test. But it was very impressive – the first of many."

“It’s nice because there are cameras, you know!” jokes Gabriel Bortoleto in return, present alongside his manager at the press conference. “No, I’m grateful for everything A14 has done for me. They’ve always been very supportive and supportive since the junior formulas. Fernando, obviously, with all his advice, helped me take the steps towards Formula 1. So, thank you for those words. I’m going to keep working very hard and giving the best of myself. This is just the beginning. I’m happy with how we’ve started, but there’s still a lot of work and development to do on my side.”

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Alonso advises Bortoleto on his F1 debut

The two men first crossed paths on track in Melbourne, where their fates were as similar as two peas in a pod. The oldest man on the grid bit the dust first, sliding on gravel that sent his Aston Martin impale himself on the circuit walls. A dozen laps later, it was Bortoleto's turn to be trapped: a track excursion that ended the Brazilian's hopes of entering the points for the first time, but which in no way damaged the esteem his mentor had for him. “It’s great to see Gabriel’s career so far.” enthuses Fernando Alonso. “ At A14, we're extremely proud of this relationship. This may be the first year he doesn't win, so we'll have to accept that. But it's part of his learning curve. All the advice and guidance I've given him over the past two years... Now I'm continuing to do the same thing. I help him as much as I can with my track experience, preparation, approach to race weekends, marketing activities, energy management... all those things."

"Regarding the rules, I have a clause in my contract that says I have to give him the slipstream every time I see him in qualifying!" laughs the Brazilian, before regaining his seriousness to talk about the help provided by his elder. “As Fernando said, he’s helped me a lot. He’s taught me how to maximize my performance on track by managing my efforts off it. For example, how to organize my days, Thursday and Friday, to stay focused on the essentials during the race weekend. So far, it’s been a great experience. In Australia, we didn’t really have the opportunity to fight directly on track, but hopefully in China we can have some wheel-to-wheel duels. That would be fun for me. I’ve watched Fernando racing all my life, and now to be driving against him in Formula 1, while also being under his management, it’s a great opportunity.”

The two drivers, 23 years apart in age, will meet on track for the second time in Shanghai, with perhaps the first on-track duel between the student and the master. In Australia, it was their teammates who distinguished themselves by both finishing in the points: Lance stroll (6th) in front Nico Hulkenberg (7e).

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