Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto had a strong rookie F1 season. His best finish was P6 and he scored a total of 19 points throughout the F1 2025 season. However, the 20-year-old was most impressive during qualifying. His F1 season included 5 Q3 and 7 Q2 appearances.
Bortoleto was able to tie his teammate Nico Hülkenberg in the qualifying head-to-head (12-12) this F1 2025 season at the Abu Dhabi GP. This is no easy feat as his German teammate is a veteran with 15 years of experience in F1 cars. It is even more impressive given that Hülkenberg is known as a great qualifier.
F1 season highlights
When asked about highlights of the F1 2025 season, he mentions his race in Hungary. From P7 on the grid, he managed a quick move in Lap 1 that allowed him to cross the line ahead of Stroll. This was his career-best finish in sixth.
“Main highlights? I mean, I can’t forget to say Budapest. I think it was so far my best race of the season. I think, great quali in Q3 and then making a move in Lap 1. And then having very good management of the tyres and finishing the race in P6.
“It was great because I think there was pure pace and very enjoyable.”
Five top 10 finishes
Bortoleto goes through his highlight real, drawing attention to three other great races this F1 2025 season. His first set of points came from Austria where he started P8 and managed to get into P5 by lap 20. He then managed to get ahead of his teammate for the third time this season. Finally, in a tough battle between him and his manager, Fernando Alonso, Bortoleto finished behind him in P8.
“There were many other races, Austria, first points, Monza, Spa. I think there were very good races as well.”
Another race of note this F1 2025 season is Monza. The Sauber driver qualified P7 and extracted everything possible from his car to finish P8. Securing more points in his rookie season, he went wheel-to-wheel with several top tier drivers.
Bortoleto managed to bag points again at Spa, further enforcing his “impressive” F1 2025 rookie season. His pace was so strong that the team ordered Hülkenberg to let the rookie through on lap 21. Finishing again in the top 10, the 20-year-old driver managed five top 10 finishes this season.
Qualifying ahead of his teammate
The Sauber rookie acknowledges that he was outqualified by his teammate on multiple occasions, leaving him room to grow as a driver. From an early DNF in Australia to getting a 5-place grid penalty in Las Vegas, Bortoleto has had his share of struggles this F1 2025 season.
After the team updated their car at the Spanish GP, Bortoleto had more success and consistency. The Brazilian went on a 7-0 qualifying run against his teammate from Austria through to Azerbaijan. Hülkenberg fought back after the F1 US GP and they ended up equally matched on a Saturday in the F1 2025 season.
“Well, there was a period of the year that I was ahead of him every quali, and then there was a period of the year that he started outqualifying me as well.
Nonetheless, the Brazilian driver extracted maximum potential from the car most weekends. He gives credit to his teammate as well as pushed each other hard this F1 2025 season. Hülkenberg suffered a timing misjudgement at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying causing him to get out in Q1.
“And I think we have been extracting a lot of the car. You see how tight it is. He has been quick also the whole weekend and he was out in Q1, because it’s so tight and a lap that you don’t put it perfectly and sometimes you are out of quali so early.
Confidence in the car
Meanwhile, Bortoleto had a great last qualifying race in Abu Dhabi where he reached P7. He attributes his strong F1 2025 season to the confidence he has in the car. Having sped through back-to-back rookie championships in F3 and F2, Bortoleto is riding this wave on confidence as much as he can. He also credits his teammate for pushing him to match his pace in qualifying and continues to learn from the more seasoned drivers on the grid.
“And I think it’s all about the confidence you have in the car, and it has been a great season in that sense for me, because to be matching a guy like him that is known as one of the best qualifiers in the grid, it’s quite an impressive thing from my point of view, and I’m very glad because I’ve been able to learn a lot from him as well.”
