Pit Debrief’s 2025 F1 Driver Rankings find Sauber’s highly touted rookie Gabriel Bortoleto 13th in his first season on the grid.
Don’t let the points tally fool you
At first glance it would seem that Bortoleto had a bit of a dud rookie season. The 2024 Formula 2 champion finished well behind the other rookies, and in fact was only ahead of the maligned Alpine second-seat duo of Franco Colapinto and Jack Doohan. But there were flashes of brilliance in his 2025 season, and signs of the promise that led to his being signed to co-anchor Audi’s arrival into Formula 1 in the first place.
Most of Gabriel Bortoleto’s 2025 points haul was in a spirited mid-season stretch in which he took nearly full advantage of a mid-season upgrade on his Sauber. From the Austrian to Italian Grands Prix Bortoleto started–and finished–in the top 10 in four of those six races. This included his best starting positions of 7th at Hungary and Italy, the latter of which gave Bortoleto his best finish to date of 6th.
Bortoleto and Hulkenberg equally matched after just one season
His pace put him right on par with teammate Nico Hulkenberg. They split head-to-head qualifying equally, with each finishing ahead of the other 12 times. Bortoleto’s 7th place starting positions–Hungary, Monza, and also Abu Dhabi–were Sauber’s highest starts in 2025. On race day, the veteran Hulkenberg had the upper hand, outfinishing his teammate 8-7, including his long-awaited first podium at Silverstone.
To add to his pace, Gabriel Bortoleto has shown an off-track touch that is uncommon among young drivers. He has shown a willingness to learn from his mistakes and improve on his shortcomings. Sauber/Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley noted that Bortoleto has been “building his engineering team around him”. The signs are there that the young Brazilian understands what it takes to assemble a team to help him elevate his game and live up to the expectations driven by his earlier successes.
If Bortoleto can avoid contact, he can touch greatness
Where Bortoleto has struggled has been consistency, and keeping out of trouble. Four of his races ended as the result of an on-track incident: Melbourne, Silverstone, Sao Paulo, and Las Vegas. His Vegas shunt was his most egregious error, divebombing the inside of Lance Stroll at turn one and earning a five-place grid penalty at Qatar for his troubles. Monaco and Austin also saw his race results affected by contact, though everyone involved was able to continue onward. Bortoleto’s most dramatic incident, however, was at the Sao Paulo sprint, where contact on the final lap sent his car spinning into the outside of the Senna S and a devastating impact with the barrier.
Depsite this, Bortoleto has shown promise and delivered the first batch of what will hopefully be many positive results in Formula 1. His points tally makes him the last Sauber rookie to score points in his debut season, joining the likes of future race winners and championship contenders such as Charles Leclerc, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Räikkönen. As Sauber becomes Audi, Bortoleto has a chance to transition from being the last of Sauber’s great diamonds in the rough to carrying on the legacy of greats like Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer as a race winner for the Four Rings.
