Gabriel Bortoleto notes of period of races in F2 which were important to secure Sauber F1 drive, as he adds on representing Brazil in 2025.
Isack Hadjar had control on the F2 championship to begin with but Bortoleto took it from him in the second half of the season when the Frenchman faltered. The post summer break period was key especially the races in Monza and Baku, which changed the momentum.
At that time, the negotiations with Sauber were pretty much on and the results did matter irrespective of the end result in title picture. “I think the summer break was quite good for me,” said Bortoleto in a feature on F1 official website. “The negotiations were done by the last two weekends and I was already announced, but through Monza and Baku, we were still talking so these were the moments where performance was very important.
“Mattia has been very, very good and knew we were fast and knew we had the opportunity to do great work together. With the results I was earning in F2, it was clear for us that we were progressing, and the season had been good.
“Every race I was progressing as a driver, and we were doing the job better. In Qatar and Abu Dhabi, there was less pressure after I’d got the contract, but the pressure of winning was still there, to win the Formula 2 Championship, that pressure was still there.
“I was with my girlfriend and had my parents on FaceTime, one of my sponsors was on the phone call as well – that was a very special moment for us. They were there and got to be part of me signing my F1 contract. When you have a lot of people behind you, supporting you, reassuring you that you can do it, wishing you good luck, it can mean the pressure is a little higher.
“But that was never something that got me out of focus, it was a positive for me. Having those good people around me, supporting me since I was young – when I won, it was a weight off my shoulders. I proved to myself that by winning F3 and F2, I deserve to be here. I didn’t get the deal because of anything else, I did this because I won both Championships, like Piastri, Russell and Leclerc,” summed up Bortoleto.
The Brazilian already had his first F1 taste in Abu Dhabi with Sauber. His step is crucial for South America as well, especially Brazil. After Felipe Massa – who last raced in 2017 – the sport hasn’t seen one apart from Pietro Fittipaldi, who did couple of races with Haas in 2020 as Romain Grosjean’s substitute.
For Bortoleto, it is a big step indeed. ‘I’m happy to be representing my country, but that doesn’t satisfy me entirely,” he said. “I want to be representing my country and doing well, but I want to be winning races in the future, fighting for important things. But first, I need to improve as a driver and progress in F1, that’s the most important thing for me now. But my aim is higher than that. I’m not only happy being a Formula 1 driver.
“I want to be able to fight for things and to make my country proud of everything I can achieve. We’ll learn new things; I’ll improve because now it’s a different situation. F2 was the focus until I finished the season and that Sunday night.
“Then, when I jumped into the Sauber on Monday to start preparing and doing big briefings and meetings with the team, that was the moment where the focus changed. When I jumped into the car for the test, it was so, so good. Zero pressure, just a new start and a new journey. Let’s see how this one goes,” summed up Bortoleto.
Here’s Fernando Alonso on Gabriel Bortoleto
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