Gabriel Bortoleto thinks Mercedes prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been outperformed by one of his Formula 2 rivals during the Italian’s rookie season.
Brazilian gem Bortoleto is currently sitting second in the drivers’ standings, having joined Formula 2 after winning the Formula 3 title last season with Trident.
Bortoleto, who is a part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, linked up with Invicta Racing for the 2024 campaign and has scored 129 points so far. He also has one win in the feature race in Austria, plus three second-place finishes.
Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar is leading the championship by 36 points over Bortoleto, with Estonian Paul Aron just five points behind in third.
With four rounds of the championship to go, the competition amongst the field is tense heading into the next race at Monza.
Gabriel Bortoleto claims Paul Aron has had a better Formula 2 season than Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli is one of motorsports’ biggest talking points following his meteoric rise up the categories towards Formula 1.
The Italian sensation made the jump straight to Formula 2 this season after winning both the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship in 2023, as well as winning two F4 titles the year prior.
Linking up with future Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman at PREMA Racing in F2, Antonelli currently sits seventh in the standings with two wins in the sprint race at Silverstone and the feature race in Budapest.
But according to Bortoleto, his championship rival Aron has had a better year than the 17-year-old.
He told Motorsport Brasil: “There’s a lot to say about Kimi. He’s also a boy I’ve known since I was little when he raced in a kart.
“I was always two categories ahead of him, he ended up jumping right? He’s very good, he’s very good. I don’t have anything to say, but obviously, everyone judges the boy’s talent as they wish.
“I believe that at the level of Formula 2, there is no one who is extremely outside of this window of drivers who are competing for the championship. I think he’s good, but I believe that, for example, Hadjar, [he’s been] a radiance of life at this moment, even Paul Aron has had a better season than his.
“Aron has been very constant and in these last three stages, he hasn’t scored almost anything. He has some problems [and] some mistakes from him. But until then, he had achieved great results and Hadjar won four races.”
Aron has only scored points in one of the last six Formula 2 races with P6 in the sprint race in Budapest. But the Estonian is a title contender after scoring seven podiums so far this season, including three second-place finishes.
Antonelli is being eyed by Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement
After making a huge jump past F3 and straight to F2 for 2024, there has been more added pressure on Antonelli to deliver results, even more so with him being part of the Mercedes Junior Team.
The Italian has been with the team since 2019 and has completed several tests in F1 machinery this season, with there being speculation that he was set to replace the struggling Logan Sargeant at Williams as early as Imola, but Mercedes denied said rumours.
With the FIA changing the rules that now allow drivers as young as 17 to obtain a Super License to compete in F1, Antonelli is being heavily linked with the vacant Mercedes seat alongside George Russell for 2025.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be leaving the team at the end of the season and will make the move to rivals Ferrari on a multi-year deal.