Ahead of Verstappen, Bortoleto had "a special day" in Hungary

Already qualified for Q3 last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Gabriel Bortoleto did it again in Hungary, on a completely different track. Where his teammate Nico Hulkenberg had to settle for a place on the last row, the Brazilian climbed to seventh position. He will share the fourth row of the starting grid this Sunday with Max Verstappen, four-time reigning world champion.

A fact that is not forgotten by the champion F2 2024, which makes its debut this season in Formula 1. After a particularly complicated Friday, Bortoleto is pleased to have been able to right the ship in this way, and prove once again that he adapts particularly well to the premier class, even if his car does not allow him to play leading roles regularly.

“It was truly a special day, one of those we don’t experience often.”, he explained to the microphone of the official Formula 1 website. “Another Q3, I'm very happy about it, and the team did a great job. It's a very special weekend for me, because I probably had one of the worst starts to a weekend I've experienced this season. I wasn't comfortable with the car in free practice, and I think my driving didn't match very well with the car and the circuit on Friday. Being able to change the car, regain confidence and put in the laps in qualifying was very important.”

On a circuit where overtaking is known to be difficult, Gabriel Bortoleto has a good opportunity in Hungary to score points for the second time in a row, after his ninth place in Belgium. It would be the first time in his career that he has managed to achieve this feat. Retained by Audi for the 2026 season, the Brazilian is enjoying a first season of learning alongside the experienced Nico Hülkenberg, without being in the spotlight too much. A strategy that now seems to be paying off...

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