Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto is disappointed in finishing outside the points again at the F1 Canadian GP. The Brazilian hoped to score his first career points at the Canadian GP. Regardless, he believed Sauber made the right call with the strategy, but their rivals happen to be very fast.
Right call, but lacking pace
Bortoleto did not advance to Q2 of the Canadian GP on Saturday, placing 16th. Ultimately, he finished the Canadian GP in 14th, but believed that the team’s strategy was the right call, and this was proven by rival Esteban Ocon.
“I think I need to get back to the team and understand what we did today. We had the right approach and the right strategy that we wanted to achieve. I think Ocon did a very similar one, I think the same one. He managed to score points.
“I don’t know how long he stayed in the first stint, if it was shorter than me or not. I actually need to see this.”
After learning that Ocon stayed out longer than he did and did not pit under the safety car, Bortoleto claimed Ocon had pace, which explains how he was able to run longer. Bortoleto also claimed he had the faster Franco Colapinto to look out for.
“Clearly they had more pace, because I could not stay longer than what I did. I think I had faster cars behind. Colapinto was putting a lot of pressure. I think one or two more laps, I could not hold him anymore.“
Bortoleto claimed his F1 Canadian GP was a “tough” one and thought it would be difficult moving forward since the cars around him are faster. He admitted his disappointment at missing out on the points again.
“And yeah, just a tough race. Difficult to go forwards. I think I had fast cars around me.
“Let’s see what we can achieve in the next event. I don’t want to be thinking too much about this one. I think it’s disappointing to not be in the points again.”
Hülkenberg gets his flowers
Bortoleto’s teammate, Nico Hülkenberg, scored points again at the F1 Canadian GP, and he is full of praise for his veteran teammate.
“[It’s] positive that Nico [Hülkenberg] got decent points again. I think I said this before, he’s taken out of the car more than he actually should be.
“I think he’s an excellent driver, and I really admire everything he’s doing. Because I think it’s impressive. And I’m happy because we have such a similar pace in quali, and in the races as well. It’s just that he manages to get every single opportunity.“
Bortoleto claimed that Hülkenberg’s strong performance at the Canadian GP was thanks to the German’s wealth of experience. He hoped to replica the steps of his teammate.
“And I believe this a lot comes from the experience. You see the race in a different way [and] that I’m not able yet to see.
“I think he’s very good at doing this. So I think I’m learning from him. And hopefully I can do the same steps he’s doing right now and start scoring some points for the team.”
Sauber’s C45 car is not consistent enough to score points
Despite missing out on the points, Bortoleto claimed his season to be “very good”. But he criticised the team’s inability to seize opportunities and having a solid car to contend for points.
“I think our season has been a very good one. But unfortunately, in terms of results in the races. Every time something happens, and we are not able to use the opportunities.“
There are a couple of reasons why Bortoleto remained scoreless, and he admitted that sometimes it is from his side as well.
“So the opportunity we had to score points were missed with me. And for many reasons. Sometimes from my side, sometimes from other things. But again, I think this happens to everyone.“
Bortoleto is frustrated to finish outside the top 10 once more and wants to pay off his team’s hard work. He aimed to qualify somewhere in the top 12 for the next rounds to be in contention.
“But it’s frustrating to not score points obviously, because I really want to start scoring points and delivering a bit for the team [for] all the hard work they are putting on. But we need to be qualifying in that top 12, I believe.
“And then things like today with Nico [where] he made a couple of positions in the start. It can happen and you score some points.”
Bortoleto is looking forward to moving on from the Canadian GP and hoped the upcoming Austrian GP to be his lucky break.
