F1
Why did Gabriel Bortoleto choose to wear number 5 in F1?
© Xavi Bonilla / DPPI
Among the 20 drivers on the grid, he was the only one who had not yet given an explanation regarding his race number in Formula 1Gabriel Bortoleto had not yet given the reason why he had decided to race with the number 5, which will be his permanent number in the discipline.
A question that is now a thing of the past: in a video published on the social networks of the Sauber team, the champion of Formula 2 gave some details that shed light on this important choice for any driver. As he explains in the video below, the Brazilian chose this number in homage to his title won in Formula 3, in 2023, when he was riding with that number at Trident. The #5 is also partly a reference to the number 85 he used when he was in karting.
Our Number 5 💚🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/pZkmam8ACg
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) February 8, 2025
Whatever one thinks of this choice, one cannot deny that Gabriel Bortoleto is a man of taste: in fact, the 5 is a fairly symbolic number in Formula 1. Indeed, apart from the n°1, it is with the n°5 that there have been the most world champions in the discipline (10 champions with the n°5 at the time of their title). The number 5 was notably worn by Nelson Piquet in 1981 and 1983, by Nigel Mansell in 1992, by Michael Schumacher in 1994 or even by Fernando Alonso in 2005, the year of his first title.
By the way, let's remember that Gabriel Bortoleto is part of the A14 Management agency founded by... Fernando Alonso. Oh well! Since the introduction of permanent numbers, it's Sebastian Vettel who was the only one to use the number 5, a number he also wore in 2010 during the season of his first title.
ALSO READ > What do the F1 2025 driver numbers mean?
Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
Continue reading on these topics:
Read also
Yves-Henri RANDIER
08/02/2025 at 06:45 a.m.
Has an F1 driver's choice of number ever been measured? At one time, teams had the same numbers from year to year and did not change them unless a driver won the title and then brought the number 1 back to the team. Would letting the driver choose his number sell more, or even a lot more, merchandise?