Gabriel Bortoleto was confirmed as the fourth rookie to join the Formula 1 grid for 2025 with Sauber on Wednesday.
The Brazilian will join the Swiss outfit in their final season under the Sauber name before they become an Audi factory team in 2026. Bortoleto has signed a multi-year deal alongside Nico Hulkenberg who is returning to the team from Haas.
Bortoleto has had a meteoric rise through the ranks in motorsport, winning the Formula 3 title in his debut season in 2023. This season, he has continued that momentum into Formula 2 as he leads the championship with two rounds to go.
Bortoleto has displayed ‘encouraging’ performances in a ‘struggling’ Invicta Racing team as he has collected two wins and five podiums thus far, showcasing the sheer talent that he has.
No one else knows the potential that the Brazilian has than five-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro, who speaking with Corriere dello Sport, outlined what he saw ‘straight away’ from Bortoleto when he was first introduced to him.
Emanuele Pirro saw ‘great qualities’ from Gabriel Bortoleto in Formula 4 that let him signing with McLaren
It was Pirro who first discovered Bortoleto during his days in Italian F4 with PREMA Racing. The 62-year-old, who is the director of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, would sign the 20-year-old to the Woking-based squad after his F3 title success in 2023.
Bortoleto will leave McLaren at the end of the year when he joins Sauber, as the team realised that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s long-term contracts would hamper his development.
READ MORE: Two-time Formula 2 race winner had discussed staying in the series before F1 team made an offer
After confirming his move to F1, Pirro looked back at his first meeting with Bortoleto and highlighted the ‘great qualities’ he has seen from the young talent over the year.
“I knew Gabriel because in 2021, when he was racing in Formula 4 with Prema, he had my son Goffredo as a track engineer”, he said.
“He had told me about this fast, intelligent, polite little driver, also a nice person in short, and I wanted to get to know him. We hit it off straight away, so much so that when Gabriel came to race at Vallelunga we hosted him at our house.
“He has great qualities: vision of the race, ability to self-criticize, knowledge of his own limits, commitment, desire to get involved, ability to analyze and learn from his own mistakes”.
Gabriel Bortoleto is battling Isack Hadjar for the Formula 2 title
Bortoleto can now rest assured that his future is secured for the long-term with Sauber, but that certainly will not slow the Brazilian down in his bid to win the F2 title.
The Invicta driver has displayed great consistency in 2024 with just two finishes outside the points since the round in Imola. He has put in some standout performances in F2, including in the Feature Race at Monza when he won from the back of the field.
READ MORE: Gabriel Bortoleto or Isack Hadjar – who will claim the 2024 Formula 2 championship?
Bortoleto is just four and a half points ahead of Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar with two rounds to go in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The Frenchman lost his lead in the standings to his rival after failing to score points at the last two rounds.
Bortoleto has been driving go-karts to keep sharp in his bid to beat Hadjar to the F2 crown. With 78 points still up for grabs, it is set to be a tense battle between the two young talents.