Gabriel Bortoleto continued his impressive rookie season at the F1 Italian GP, securing another valuable points finish after a hard-fought race at Monza. The Brazilian qualified 7th and finished the race in 8th. Teammate Nico Hülkenberg was forced to retire on the formation lap. Sauber’s hopes for points rested solely on Bortoleto, making the rookie’s performance even more crucial for the team.
Bortoleto admitted he extracted everything possible from his car, but he ultimately could not fight Alex Albon as Williams had superb race pace.
“Yeah, I think it was a strong pace, you know, I think we delivered what we could today. I think we had, that was the pace, we knew Williams was going to come past. It was a bit surprising that they were out in Q2 yesterday. Yeah, it was just nice, you know, to put some quali laps after quali laps, trying to beat Albon’s lap time. But not easy you know, he had a very strong form, and I think we maximised today.”
Early-race action
The opening laps of the Italian GP saw Bortoleto go wheel-to-wheel with several top team drivers. He didn’t shy away from the challenge, enjoying the chance to mix it at the front of the field.
Ultimately he fell behind Russell and Alonso before the Spanaird retired. While Antonelli overcut him, a penalty saw the Brazilian take P8.
“Well, I overtook Kimi, I overtook Fernando at some point and I tried to overtake George. So it was nice, I knew it wasn’t going to last long, but at least I put myself there, I don’t care. I mean, I want to try to fight a bit.”
Although he eventually dropped back to midfield, the brief time at the front highlighted his aggression and growing F1 confidence.
Strong progress throughout the season
Since his breakthrough at the Austrian GP, Bortoleto has strengthened his ability to qualify strongly and stay in contention on Sundays. He went on to bag points at Spa, Hungary and in Monza.
Reflecting on his progress in his rookie season, the Brazilian said, “Look, I’m very happy, I mean, I’ve been evolving through the year. I think we have been achieving very solid results and maximising a lot of the car we have.
“I think, you know, the races have been scoring points. No one breaks down in front of me, so I feel a bit for that, because sometimes I want to just people to… No one get hurt, but you know, just DNF one or the other car then you score 10 more points. But this year, so far, all the races I have been in the points and no one is DNFing.
“So anyway, I don’t mind, you know, it is what it is. I’m not going to win the championship this year,” he says, having taken back-to-back titles in F3 (2023) and F2 (2024). He continues, “So, I just want to be happy and perform in the way I’m performing, you know, and deliveringbgood results.”
