Revealed: The surprising connection between Bernie Ecclestone and Gabriel Bortoleto

Bernie Ecclestone says he helped Gabriel Bortoleto secure a seat on the F1 2025 grid with Sauber, declaring the driver is “worth his weight in gold.”

A McLaren junior last year, it looked as if Bortoleto would miss out on a Formula 1 promotion despite racing towards the Formula 2 title.

Bernie Ecclestone: Gabriel Bortoleto is ‘worth his weight in gold’

He emerged late in the year as a candidate for Sauber, with his signing putting an end to Valtteri Bottas’s hopes of retaining the race seat even though the Finn had a contract in hand and was “waiting for the green light” from the team.

However, two weeks later, Sauber confirmed Bortoleto would replace Bottas in an all-new F1 2025 lineup that included Nico Hulkenberg.

Former F1 supremo Ecclestone played a role in that outcome.

“I’m glad we were able to help the Bortoleto family with their entry into Formula 1,” said the 94-year-old as he visited the F1 paddock at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“The boy is worth his weight in gold.”

After a slow start to his F1 career, Bortoleto has begun to show why he won back-to-back titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2.

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Entering the sport with minimal F1 experience having covered only half a day of testing with McLaren before climbing into the Sauber for the one-day post-season test, the Brazilian went 10 races without a single point.

But in the last four, he’s bagged three top-ten results, including a P6 at the Hungarian Grand Prix to bring his points tally to 14 points.

Bortoleto said his progress is natural given he’s only starting in Formula 1

“It’s my rookie season,” he told media including PlanetF1.com in Hungary “It’s normal that you progress. I think, at least for me, I’ve always been like this.

“If you check my junior series, I’ve been a guy that always has these type of steps in my career because I like to work, I like to study, I like to understand what I’ve been doing wrong and do a better job.”

“This one has the best race,” he continued, “it was a pure pace and so much a great result.”

Quizzed on his pre-race chat with Ecclestone as he made his way to the grid, Bortoleto said: “Bernie is a guy I know. I know Fabiana, his wife. And my family knows them as well.

“[We] said ‘hi’. Bernie is always a great guy to talk to, so much experience, a legend of the sport.”

Ecclestone and his wife Fabiana, who is Brazilian, split their time between their houses in Brazil, London and Switzerland with Bortoleto’s family getting to know them during their time in Brazil.

Bortoleto later shared more details on how Ecclestone, with a few words to Audi, who will take over Sauber next year, had helped him on his path to Formula 1.

Speaking on the Na Ponta dos Dedos podcast, he said: “I’ve known him for some time now, he’s extremely influential in the industry, everyone knows who Bernie Ecclestone is. And he supported my entry into F1, if anyone asked.

“He said: ‘You can trust him, he’s a good driver and he’ll deliver results.’ He did that part within Audi itself as well.

“So, I thanked him that day [in Hungary]. I said: ‘Bernie, thank you very much.’ Because a few words, from a person as influential as him, mean a lot.

“I went to thank him because it’s important to thank the people who supported you in these moments, of entering F1, we know how difficult it is for Brazilians. But it was quick, I had to go to the grid, then he even called me after the race.

“Fabiana called me and passed it on to him, and he came to congratulate me on the race and said that I drove very well, that he was very happy and that a podium would come soon.”

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