Gabriel Bortoleto equalled his best ever F1 qualifying result with a fantastic P7 on the grid for the Abu Dhabi GP.
The Brazilian rookie made it 12-12 against Nico Hülkenberg in the Grand Prix qualifying head-to-head. It was the first time since Azerbaijan that he did it.
The 21-year-old was very pleased speaking in the print media pen afterwards.
“Yeah, it’s good to be back with this feeling in the car and to put a very good quali for the last race of the season.”
From a narrow escape in Q1 to a fourth row start at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP for Gabriel Bortoleto
In Q1, the former F2 and F3 champion was P14, making it through by only 0.020s as Sauber almost butchered it for both drivers by leaving it very late for their last attempts. Nico Hülkenberg did get bumped, nonetheless.
From there, however, things went very well for the driver of car 5. P7 on the first runs of Q2, a superb second lap put him P5 overall. While his Q3 lap was 0.030s slower, P7 on the grid was a fine performance.
Bortoleto explained how they bounced back from almost getting knocked out in Q1 to finish 7th in qualifying at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
“It was a very big surprise because in Q1 we were almost out.
“Nico was out and I was almost out with him, but I think it was also a bit of a messy one with timings and everything. Both of us almost didn’t open the lap.
“But in that moment that was everything that was in my mind, and I think we did a good job on putting our heads down and a good balance of the car and good laps and go to Q3.”
Gabriel Bortoleto says final Q2 lap at F1 Abu Dhabi GP one of the best of his racing career
11th in final practice following a very impressive FP2 for Sauber, a proper dogfight looked to be on to make the top 10.
Following that Q1 scare, Bortoleto feels his final lap in Q2 was one of his best in his career to date. He was P5, only 0.144s off the top time in the middle segment.
“It’s very satisfying because today in FP3 it felt good, but it didn’t feel as good as yesterday.
“And then I was like, ‘yeah, maybe they catch it up a bit and it’s going to be tough,’ but it was tough still.
“But when you put amazing laps, like in Q2 was one of the best laps I’ve done probably in my career I would say. It was a mega lap.
“Then in Q3 it was a good lap as well. But that lap that put me in Q3 was quite an impressive one from my view.”
Full attack for Gabriel Bortoleto in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
With Kimi Antonelli only P14 and Lewis Hamilton down in 16th, Bortoleto looks to have a solid chance of matching his best race result in 2025 on Sunday. He was P6 in Hungary back in early August.
A good fight with his mentor Fernando Alonso is a strong possibility. The Spaniard starts right in front of him. 0.002s was the incredibly small gap between them.
Bortoleto is also hoping to profit if there is drama in front of him.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a fun one actually, yeah. Last race of the season, so we go for it.
“Yeah, exactly, for the first laps, then let’s see where they finish [the title contenders]. But hopefully they have a nice fight there and then we can make some positions, me and Fernando.”
Gabriel Bortoleto hopes Nico Hülkenberg can move up in F1 Abu Dhabi GP to help in fight for P6 or P7 in the Constructors’ Championship
Heading into tomorrow’s F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Sauber need to outscore Haas by 5 points to steal P7 away in the Constructors’ Championship. They are 12 points adrift of Aston Martin.
The Brazilian is hoping his German teammate can come through from P18 to try and help Sauber gain positions in the final race of 2025.
“Yeah, there’s going to be a long race for us tomorrow.
“Hopefully Nico can catch up with us in the points and then we fight all of us two against them too. Or hopefully I don’t fight with any of them and I go and do my race myself.”
