Gabriel Bortoleto is patient: "Last year I beat the drivers who are performing well in F1 today."

Champion of Formula 2 in 2024, 19^th en Formula 1 so far in 2025: this is Gabriel Bortoleto's record after nine rounds. However, the Brazilian is one of only four drivers in history to have won consecutive titles in F3 then in F2 during their rookie season, after Oscar piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

"I'm happy with what I've done since the beginning of the year, even though, of course, it's not the position I would like to be in.", he grants to Lewis Larkam, of CrashDespite achieving his best result at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing twelfth, Bortoleto has still not scored any points in Formula 1.

On the other side of his garage, Nico Hulkenberg scored ten points with his fifth place in Barcelona, ​​equaling the team's best final position in F1. The contrast is less marked in qualifying, where Bortoleto has already beaten the German four times. "I think I did a good job in qualifying. I still need to improve in the race, to better understand the situations in the overall Grand Prix."

An understandable learning curve when comparing the length of a Formula 1 GP to the lower categories: an F120 main race averages 3 kilometers, 170 for F2, versus 300 for a Grand Prix. Added to this are new requirements, which give drivers a hectic schedule every weekend.

“There’s so much going on. The weekends are pretty jam-packed. There are so many media constraints to adhere to, sponsor events to attend. Also, there’s a lot of data coming from the car, much more than in Formula 2, which means more analysis work.”, explains the Brazilian.

Bortoleto hopes for a return to the top with Audi's Formula 1 project

The task is all the more difficult given the lack of results this season. Ahead of the arrival of German manufacturer Audi, which completed its full acquisition of Sauber last season, 2025 is being used as a transition year into a new era: new driver duo, new Team Principal, new CEO, etc.

In comparison, he had beaten the Frenchman Isack Hadjar in 2024 at the end of the fight for the title with ten podiums to his name, including two victories, enough to make him nostalgic. "The feeling of winning is amazing and addictive, it's a feeling you don't want to lose. When you don't win, it's like you're always missing something."

It's difficult to predict the hierarchy of the 2026 grid, but the São Paulo native is confident in the project of the brand with the four rings: "Currently, we are far from victories, he admits, But the program that awaits us with Audi, and everything we can achieve with Nico [Hülkenberg] as a team next year, makes me believe in the project. »

Perhaps there are good days ahead for Gabriel Bortoleto, who even hopes to reach the top step of the podium: "I can't wait to win again, hopefully soon.", he considers, to once again get on the car to celebrate something big. »

Managing the frustration of finding himself behind the other rookies he was beating in 2024

In the meantime, we have to make do with the performance of the Kick Sauber C45, while being patient with the performances of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman, whom he dominated a year ago. "It's hard to see riders I've competed with my whole life, who I was ahead of last year, being in good shape, he admits. I was beating these drivers who are performing well in F1 today."

"I'm not going to say it's frustrating because I'm delighted to be in Formula 1. There are loads of drivers who would dream of being in my position regardless of the position they finish in the Grands Prix.", corrects the Brazilian, who takes his peers' journey as an example. “You have to know how to arm yourself with patience. I think that’s the main lesson I’ve learned from the start of the season: wait for my time is coming, he announces. Russell had a very difficult first year, without even scoring any points, and look where he is now."

On Sunday, June 15, Gabriel Bortoleto will start the Canadian GP, ​​on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, which he will be discovering. In 2024, the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu-Zhou had finished thirteenth and fifteenth respectively. The date is set, the objective is set: it's up to him to do better.

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