Sauber boss offers honest Gabriel Bortoleto assessment

Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley predicts Gabriel Bortoleto will have an easier time of it after the F1 summer break.

Bortoleto proved a revelation in recent races as the rookie chalked up his first F1 points at the Austrian Grand Prix, quickly followed by two more top 10s in the three events that followed.

Jonathan Wheatley has been impressed by Gabriel Bortoleto’s progression

It was a slow start to the year for Bortoleto, who won last year’s Formula 2 championship before graduating to F1 with Sauber.

He did so after being released by McLaren after forming part of the squad’s junior driver programme.

His arrival at Hinwil came with limited experience in an F1 car. Bortoleto did not take part in a Friday practice session for McLaren in 2024, nor had he completed extensive mileage, as some of his peers had.

In addition to that, it was only at the Bahrain Grand Prix that he competed at a circuit he’d raced at in his junior career.

He was also left dealing with an unruly car, such that veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg managed just a single top-10 result in the opening eight races of the year.

Upgrades introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix have seen the car come to life, helping Hulkenberg record a first-career podium at the British GP.

As Sauber’s form improved, so too has Bortoleto’s.

“It’s worth pointing out again that he hasn’t done 10,000 km of testing of previous cars,” Wheatley told the media, including PlanetF1.com.

“He has done 10,000 kilometres in a Formula 1 car. It’s his first season in Formula 1. There are many circuits that he’s not been to, and there’s some coming up that he hasn’t been to.

“He’s been able to deliver brilliantly over the last few races, on circuits that he knows.

“I think he’s matured as a driver, and he’s developed as a driver, and I think he’s going to be able to adapt to these new circuits much quicker than he did in the first half of the season.”

That upturn in form has led to suggestions that the Brazilian has been the most impressive rookie through the opening 14 events of the season – stealing that mantle from Isack Hadjar.

Among those singing Bortoleto’s praises has been teammate Hulkenberg, who has been impressed with his young colleague.

“I think he’s a very bright, very fast guy, who is very dedicated, very focused, works really hard,” the Hulkenberg said.

“He definitely has the right attitude, and he’s got the speed. It’s very impressive for me, for a rookie, seeing him that close as a teammate, seeing his data, listening to what he has to say after sessions and races.

“I think it’s very, very encouraging. He has everything you need to become a great driver and to have a long, successful career.”

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Bortoleto has spoken in a similar vein of Hulkenberg, pointing to a strong relationship between the pair despite being at opposite ends of their careers.

With Sauber in a building phase ahead of its rebranding as Audi for F1 2026, it’s an important element, according to Wheatley.

“It’s the closest, most collaborative driver pairing, I think I can even remember in all my time in Formula 1,” said the ex-Red Bull sporting director.

“Gabriel has a fantastic work ethic. He has a capacity for taking on new information. He’s proving every way to be the future star that we expected him to be.

“And Nico, as part of that journey with him, on the other side of the engineering table, you’ve got this extraordinary experience and this and Nico’s proven talent.

“We’re talking about Gabby a lot [after the Hungarian GP], but Nico did a tremendous job, just you don’t really see it, or you don’t notice it because it didn’t result in a points finish.

“But, as a team, we’re very pleased with both of our drivers.”

Sauber sits seventh in the Constructors’ Championship with 51 points. It’s a strong turnaround from F1 2024 when it totalled four.

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