Fernando Alonso doesn’t shrink back from complaining about perceived slights, some honest however others imagined. His current barb, that Gabriel Bortoleto’s performances for Sauber in 2025 are neglected, falls into the latter class. His declare that Bortoleto is “the perfect rookie of this technology” is up for debate, though he’s definitely making an affect, however the suggestion that “if he have been English or one thing like that and completed sixth in a Sauber, he’d be on the entrance web page of each newspaper” but no one is speaking about him is extensive of the mark. The very fact is, Bortoleto is getting headlines – and rightly so.
Alonso will not be neutral on the subject of Bortoleto, who joined his A14 Administration steady in September 2022. That deal set Bortoleto on the trail to Method 3 and Method 2 titles in consecutive seasons forward of his commencement to F1 with Sauber this yr. Alonso would have had a degree about Bortoleto being uncared for had he made it two months in the past, however current performances have made him unignorable. For these paying shut consideration, his high quality was clear early on, but it surely’s solely since Sauber’s current upturn in type that he’s had the outcomes to show it.
Bortoleto began 2025 as a supporting participant within the star solid of rookies. Kimi Antonelli, considered a Verstappen-in-the-making by Mercedes, shared prime billing with Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman at Haas. Even Isack Hadjar, reluctantly promoted to F1 by Pink Bull, bounced again from crashing on the formation lap of his grand prix debut to be hailed as prime newcomer. The uncertainty round his Alpine future even stored Jack Doohan within the headlines early on. Bortoleto, in the meantime, was simply forgotten.
The 20-year-old Brazilian’s first 10 grand prix weekends yielded no factors finishes and a greatest grid place of twelfth. But there have been optimistic indicators, as his qualifying performances stacked up properly in comparison with veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg. His races have been, as you’d anticipate, extra erratic however that was as a lot all the way down to the difficult-to-drive Sauber C45 that suffered from aerodynamic instability. A ground improve for the ninth race of the season in Spain modified all that.
“I really feel like since we introduced the primary upgrades [in Spain], the automobile is altering the steadiness via the nook a bit much less,” says Bortoleto. “Generally earlier than, I used to be approaching the nook in a sure manner and the automobile was not behaving how I needed it to behave.
“Or once we have been following in soiled air, it was super-sensitive typically. In China, I spun simply because I crossed the soiled air of Bearman. We have been combating after which sooner or later he crosses in entrance of me and I utterly misplaced downforce and spun. In order that’s one thing that we did positively want to enhance on throughout this season.”
Turbulent air is a common fact in F1, however the Sauber suffered from that greater than most with a automobile that was even peaky and unpredictable in clear air. Through the first eight occasions of the season, the Sauber was able to reaching Q2 if the drivers nailed it within the first section of qualifying, however doing so was significantly difficult because of these traits. Bortoleto reached Q2 3 times, plus in each of the dash periods in China and Miami.
These early races have been a combined bag in a automobile that tended to carry out worse on a future. Bortoleto crashed in Australia and collided with Kimi Antonelli on the primary lap at Monaco, however flirted with a factors end at Imola however was thwarted by a pitstop shortly earlier than a VSC that set him on a path to ending final. In Bahrain, he struggled for confidence and in managing tire degradation, whereas in Miami he had a great run within the grand prix earlier than an engine downside put him out. This, bear in mind, was in a part of the season when the Sauber was, on steadiness, the weakest automobile and didn’t give both driver the boldness to push. The crew’s sole factors end was Hulkenberg’s seventh in Australia, which was solely potential because of a perfectly-timed change to intermediates. This meant that whereas Bortoleto had proven loads of flashes of type, he’d but to string collectively a weekend that made the broader world conscious of his qualities.
That began to vary in Spain. He exhibited his adaptability by working the previous ground on Friday as Sauber accomplished a rigorous back-to-back check for its improve bundle, however from the second it was bolted onto his automobile for FP3 on Saturday he gelled with it. He promptly outqualified his team-mate, then after Hulkenberg acquired forward at the beginning Bortoleto ran with him earlier than being left to run lengthy. Whereas Hulkenberg surged to fifth place after a late security automobile let him bolt on recent softs, Bortoleto completed 12th when he might simply have been proper up there together with his teammate. Once more, it was clear to these paying shut consideration that Bortoleto had strung collectively a powerful weekend that after once more wasn’t rewarded with factors.
Austria was a breakout weekend for Bortoleto, and he added one other two point-scoring finishes earlier than the summer season break. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Photos
A tough weekend adopted in Montreal, though he instantly acknowledged his error in qualifying of under-driving in Q1 earlier than a race wherein he struggled with the tires. Then got here the breakthrough in Austria. He certified eighth and completed seventh behind Alonso utilizing a automobile with one other step in ground improvement. He knew he ought to have overwhelmed his mentor, once more exhibiting his capability for recognizing the place he wants to enhance.
“I’ve made a mistake from my facet in that I went for a transfer in Flip 3 after which he acquired DRS,” stated Bortoleto. “If I perhaps waited a bit simply earlier than hitting the [detection] line and getting the DRS on exit, in all probability I’d have gotten him. That was a key second as a result of you’ve got just one or two laps to make a transfer as a result of it was the top of the race. After I went for the transfer, he slowed down and I attempted to decelerate as properly, however wI as already dedicated and couldn’t cease earlier than the [detection] line. That was a second he performed very sensible and managed to overhaul me again.”
There, Bortoleto’s willingness to just accept he was out-thought showcases he’s very a lot an previous head on younger shoulders – he is 20 occurring 40. That’s encouraging because it permits him to investigate his personal performances objectively and never be blinded by greedy for excuses or self-justification. This high quality is obvious in all the pieces he says about himself, speaking of the will to emerge because the strongest all-round driver he could be. There, you sense a few of Alonso’s affect, mixed with the truth that Bortoleto shares the double world champion’s razor-sharp aggressive edge. He even has a touch of Alonso’s off-track combativity, as if he senses any unfairness implicit in a query he’ll firmly, however politely, push again and make himself heard. These qualities stand him in good stead.
He is additionally proven the flexibility to bounce again from catastrophe. The next race at Silverstone was a nightmare, spinning at Becketts in FP3 and damaging the ground. That pressured him to qualify on the pre-Austria specification, beating Hulkenberg earlier than spinning and tagging the barrier at Abbey after switching to slicks within the moist on the finish of the formation lap. Once more, that was an opportunity for introspection. He later stated of the tire choice “if you end up a rookie, you at all times need to do one thing a bit completely different”. In mitigation, whereas two of his fellow rookies, Bearman and Hadjar, made the identical misjudgement, so too did George Russell and Charles Leclerc, two of the perfect within the enterprise. But he adopted this up with two excellent weekends within the back-to-back occasions in Belgium and Hungary.
At Spa, he certified 10th and completed ninth in each the dash and the primary occasion. Though solely price factors within the latter, it was an impressive efficiency. Then got here Hungary, the place he certified eighth and completed seventh, forward of Lance Stroll in a sooner Aston Martin after getting forward at the beginning. Benefiting from one other Sauber ground improve, he extracted all the pieces from the bundle in each occasions. His reward is, eventually, the eye he deserves from the watching world.
One factor Alonso often reminds everybody of, with some justification, is that Bortoleto’s preparation for coming into F1 was very restricted when it comes to TPC (testing of earlier vehicles) working. It left him properly behind the likes of Antonelli, who accomplished a complete check program final yr, and Bearman, who raced 3 times in 2024, when it comes to F1 mileage. Bortoleto is a quick learner and an adaptable driver, one who tends towards a extra attacking corner-entry fashion than Hulkenberg however not universally so. He acknowledges the necessity to modify the method relying on the nook kind and circumstances, one thing that’s essential in these tough ground-effect F1 vehicles. Curiously, he has additionally hinted that a few of that adaptability is drawn from his love of sim racing, which he suggests would possibly make it potential for drivers to develop larger tolerance for rear instability – a key trait given that may make a automobile very fast, supplied you’ll be able to management it.
He additionally has all of the hallmarks of a driver who will get higher as they climb the ladder. Though he caught the attention in karting and in his early steps in single-seaters, it wasn’t till F3 and F2 that he began to rack up titles. Signed by McLaren throughout his victorious F3 marketing campaign in 2023, he made a optimistic impression on the crew, however with title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in for the lengthy haul he needed to search an F1 alternative elsewhere. Sauber was the one port accessible in his explicit storm, and regardless of the long-term attraction of its transformation into Audi, there was the very actual danger that his entire season might need appeared just like the early phases – real promise hidden by an erratic automobile. Luckily, Sauber’s spectacular improvement progress has saved him from such undeserved reputational harm.
Bortoleto remains to be on a steep studying curve and with three factors finishes within the final 4 races he’s trending to be a constant scorer within the again finish of the season. He’s demonstrated adaptability, intelligence and dedication, in addition to pace which means he has a vibrant future in F1. There have been indicators of that early within the season, however now the advance of the equipment has made that very clear to everybody. Sure, Fernando, even the English-speaking media has observed how good your protégé is…
