Gabriel Bortoleto expands on spending time with Max Verstappen on and off track in F1, as the Dutchman notes of learning from new generation.
Ever since Sauber’s Bortoleto made it in F1, the Brazilian has spent considerable amount of time with Red Bull’s Verstappen. Even though the F2 champion is a protégé of Fernando Alonso, he is often mingling with the Dutchman clan whether on or off the track.
In fact, Bortoleto is now unofficially part of Team Redline as he is often playing with the team as seen on live streaming. The Brazilian isn’t certain why Verstappen has taken interest in him. The Dutchman first met him during the youngster’s karting days in Brazil.
Bortoleto eventually moved to Europe and came through the ranks to clinch the F3 and F2 titles as a rookie. In fact, the Brazilian revealed that Verstappen helped him with pointers during his F3 campaign as well, at a time when he joined Alonso’s A14 Management group.
The two share track models off-late and Verstappen shares tips on certain tracks which has helped Bortoleto to fine-tune his driving. The Brazilian has taken on far experienced Nico Hulkenberg on qualifying side, even though the German is ahead on the points table.
“Yeah, it was funny, we [have] played some Call of Duty,” said Bortoleto to media. “That’s how we spend the days, right? And it was good to just have fun and laugh a little bit. You should ask him the words he knows! It’s very bad ones, so I cannot say it here. He loves to say them when it’s not live. I think I currently learn. We drive a lot together in the sim and we practice a lot.
“I would say this is always helpful, tracks he already knows, tips he gives, about corners and things that I should be looking at. He always very good, the tips he gives to me. He is a four-time world champ, so he achieved a lot in his career and I’m super glad to have someone like him, being very helpful. Sometimes I don’t even ask it’s coming from him and obviously you need to be curious, but it’s very nice to have someone like this.
“He has zero interest at the end of the day he’s not working with me on any sense and helping me a lot. So I’m grateful. Yeah [he share track models]. I think most of the tracks [it helped me], but it is not only him, I shared too. Sometimes I have a track that I really like and I share with him and we just do slight changes because we have guys who are working for us.
“But I think Budapest was a very nice one, Monza was a very good model he had, Spa was very good as well. He started helping me when I was in Formula 3. We became good friends and I believe he liked me probably (laughs). So that’s why. He wants to see me doing well in Formula 1. I always made it very clear that he’s, for me, the top guy in Formula 1.
“And I really look up to what he did and what he’s doing in Formula 1. So I think probably he likes it. I don’t know, you should probably ask him why he takes me under… I don’t know the answer. Again, probably because he likes me and I try, I show him that I’m really into simulators and stuff that he likes and that I love as well, and we do it together,” summed up Bortoleto.
When asked being his teammate one day, Bortoleto didn’t readily think about Red Bull but more on the lines of the Dutchman being part of Audi in the future if it happens. For the immediate future, the Brazilian wasn’t thinking too much about switching teams.
“Maybe he comes to Audi one day, I don’t know,” continued Bortoleto. “I mean, as a friend and everything, we work very well together. He helps me a lot. I really believe he can be a very good teammate in the sense of, when we get a team and bring the team together, he didn’t win four titles because he was lucky.
“He won it because he was in a team that, when he got there, was not a world championship team, and then he built it up with them and made them win. So I believe maybe working together wouldn’t be a bad thing. But again, if he comes to Audi one day… I’m happy where I am. And I am very glad with the project we have,” summed up Bortoleto.
Verstappen, on the other hand, was chill about his relation with Bortoleto. He felt nice to spend time with the Brazilian and other youngsters part of Team Redline. He doesn’t have much time to race these days, but helps whenever possible and tries to learn the new generation tricks from them.
“They are the same, I enjoy some times whenever I have free time to spend a bit of time with other drivers…yeah spending bit more time on my home sim to develop some car models, yeah whenever I can. I don’t really have time to race anymore on it but yeah whenever I can to help out a bit with the team, I try to do that,” said Verstappen to media. “They are just nice guys, I get very well along with them. They are just themselves.
“Everyone has big dreams, Gabi made it to Formula 1 now and yeah when you get along very well, why not? I am not here to hide anything. We practice together, we talk about stuff, also about future. Yeah, we are very open to each other and of course being in F1 a bit longer is always good to talk to each other plus it is a new generation as well, you might learn something from them as well. I am always open, yeah, we just push each other along.”
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