No time to lose. Like Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton (who shares the track with Charles Leclerc each time), Sauber also prepares its future with its new protégé Gabriel Bortoleto. Consecutive champion of the F3 (2023) and F2 (2024), the Brazilian has made his way to the F1 with the ambition of asserting himself as the new idol of the Auriverde people.
With the season set to begin in Melbourne (March 14-16), the squad led by Mattia Binotto is now working hard to make their new rising star feel at home. It has not been uncommon to see them grinding down the asphalt in recent weeks.
There was a first TPC (private tests supervised by the FIA in the Sporting Regulations and which allow teams to benefit from driving time with single-seaters entered a few seasons ago) at Imola a few days ago. Before a second this week on the Barcelona side where we can assume that he shared the track with Ferrari who also held one for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
A Catalan outing in which Gabriel Bortoleto was able to learn more than in Emilia-Romagna where the conditions did not plead in his favour.
« I have completed two new days of testing [this time] in Barcelona. They were very positive and I was able to cover a lot of kilometers, confided-he. It was better than Imola because it was raining there which prevented us from doing many laps even though we are limited to 1000 kilometers.
I am very happy with the results achieved these two days in Barcelona and the progress I was able to make, as well as the amount of laps completed. I am looking forward to starting the season » Now all that remains is to work on the final procedures, do a bit of simulator work and Gabriel Bortoleto will be able to say he is ready to take the plunge. For this, the pre-season tests in Bahrain (February 26-28) will be a great opportunity before the serious stuff starts.
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