Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley shares praise for rookie Gabriel Bortoleto as the Brazilian secures his first points finish in Formula 1 in the Austrian Grand Prix.
Sauber have enjoyed a stellar run of form since their Spanish GP upgrade early last month. This uptick in pace reached a head at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. A strong performace saw the team secure their first double points finish of the season.
While veteran driver Hulkenberg has scored in the last 3 Grands Prix, it was rookie Gabriel Bortoleto’s first points finish. An impressive performance in Saturday’s qualifying session saw the young Brazilian start from P8 on Sunday. Eventually crossing the line in the same position, Bortoleto received praise from team principal Jonathan Wheatley following the Grand Prix.
“I just felt it was inevitable,” Wheatley said in the wake of the F1 Austrian GP. “And I know there was a little bit of a story brewing, like, ‘Oh, he’s the only one without points’. But he’s just been on this journey and the mature approach he’s had since the beginning of it, in his work ethic, it’s like it’s not even something I gave thought to, it was only stuff that the media was asking me about.
“And what I love is, and what I’ve seen in the past with young drivers as well is, even though they have all the confidence in the world, each of these milestones just makes them build on it and build on it and build on it. And their confidence grows and grows and grows, you know. He’s got a very, very bright future ahead of him.”
Reflecting on the Austrian GP weekend as a whole, Wheatley explained Bortoleto’s previous experience played a role. While he has experienced the Red Bull Ring previously, having one the 2024 F2 feature race, Wheatley was quick to highlight Bortoleto’s relative inexperience in Formula 1.
Continuing his praise, Wheatley highlighted the young rookie’s ability to hit the ground running.
“This is a circuit that Gabi [Bortoleto] knows,” he continued. “It’s easy to forget it’s his first year, he hasn’t done this 10,000 hours of TPC (testing previous cars) testing in a Formula One car. He’s learning on the job. He’s learning at each track.
“This is a track that, okay we thought would suit the car, but it also suits Gabi. But then every circuit is going to suit him and Nico if the car keeps performing the way it is.”
One key highlight of Bortoleto’s performance was his late stage battle with his own manager Fernando Alonso. While the Sauber driver seemed to have a significant pace advantage, his attempts to pass were scuppered by the McLaren’s.
Embroiled in their own battle for the lead, Norris and Piastri found themselves lapping Bortoleto and Alonso, bringing their fight to a premature end.
When asked about this nail biting on track action, Wheatley shared an anecdote shared with McLaren boss Zak Brown.
“I was more looking behind at getting lapped, and I messaged Zak [Brown] in the race and said, ‘Don’t lap us!’,” he shared jokingly. “But they did. That would have been the cherry on the icing on the cake. And I think we could have had a slightly different result, but there you go.”
In the wake of Bortoleto’s driver of the day award, Wheatley claimed it was fully deserved. He called the Brazilian’s performance “flawless” as he reflected on the weekend.
“He should have had it in other races as well,” claimed Wheatley. “I’m super excited for him and super pleased for him.
“He drove a flawless race, absolutely flawless across every tyre set, worked his way through traffic, did clever things with lapping, unlapping. It was a flawless performance.”
