Gabriel Bortoleto has signed a multi-year contract to drive for Sauber in 2025, with the team becoming Audi in 2026; Bortoleto is the F2 championship leader in a series which features Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman; F1 returns with Las Vegas GP on November 22-24
Friday 8 November 2024 08:10, UK
There has been a lot of noise surrounding Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman before they make their full-time F1 debuts in 2025, but both drivers are currently a long way behind F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, who has been signed up by Sauber.
Bortoleto will partner Nico Hulkenberg in a new line-up for the team which will be taken over by Audi from 2026, although he has gone under the radar among the new crop of young drivers on their way to F1.
With Antonelli confirmed to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Bearman joining Haas, Jack Doohan heading to Alpine and possible seats for Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto within the Red Bull family, Bortoleto will be among at least four full-time rookies looking to impress in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Is it possible Bortoleto is the best of this new generation? And what has he done to impress Sauber?
Sky Sports F1 takes a look at Brazil's latest talent, who is supported by Fernando Alonso's driver management company.
Bortoleto dominated karting in Brazil then tested his skills in Europe, where the level is much higher.
After karting success in 2018 and 2019, he made the jump to racing cars in 2020, where he finished fifth in Italian F4.
Following two solid seasons in Formula Regional, he came to many people's attention in 2023 when he became F3 champion in his rookie campaign.
His ability to quickly adapt to different single-seater cars and get stronger in faster machinery, which bodes well for F1, was noticed by McLaren who signed him up to their Driver Development Programme.
Bortoleto started on pole in his first F2 race earlier this year but he had a poor start to the season, including three consecutive retirements.
The fourth round in Imola showcased his great speed again as he took pole and a first F2 podium, with a maiden victory coming in Austria in June.
From there, Bortoleto showed plenty of consistency and added another impressive Feature Race win in Monza in September to his resume, before taking the championship lead at the last event in Baku.
Only two F2 events remain - in Qatar and Abu Dhabi - but Bortoleto has already done the hard part of securing an F1 drive with Sauber.
He now has the opportunity to become just the sixth driver to win the F2 title in his rookie campaign after only Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Hulkenberg and Hamilton.
Bortoleto signed for Alonso's driver management company, A14, in 2022 just before his junior stock began to rise.
The 20-year-old was not even born when Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 but will now be racing against the two-time world champion, who has been keeping a close eye on him.
"He's an incredible talent and a very humble person as well, which I think that's the biggest thing that we need to work on," said Alonso.
"He's a hard worker, apart from his talent, and I think that's why in Formula 3 and Formula 2 he had this much progress. I think also he's someone that is taking things very seriously as well, which at that age is never a guarantee.
"He won the championship as a rookie in Formula 3, and he's fighting for the championship as a rookie in Formula 2, but without the test of many other rookies. So he's probably the only rookie [fighting] in the championship. This was an amazing achievement so far."
After joining the McLaren Driver Development programme in October 2023, Bortoleto has tested the 2022 McLaren and worked on the team's simulator during this year.
McLaren chief Zak Brown says Bortoleto is a "great racing driver" and team principal Andrea Stella was not surprised to see Sauber take interest in their driver.
"It has been a pleasure to work with Gabriel over the last year and to have been able to contribute to his success and growth as a driver through the McLaren Driver Development programme," said McLaren in a team statement.
"We have a strong driver line-up in Lando and Oscar, and therefore we have always been clear that we would not stand in the way of an opportunity for Gabriel to progress whilst we are not in the position to offer him a seat with McLaren.
"We look forward to continuing to support Gabriel in his campaign for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 title and wish him all the best for his career beyond F2."
Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22-24, live on Sky Sports F1 where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Get Sky Sports F1 to watch every race and more live
