‘Wild’ F1 rookie is already reminding his team of a young Charles Leclerc behind the scenes

Charles Leclerc made his Formula 1 debut with Alfa Romeo – now known as Sauber – in 2018. Ferrari’s engine supply deal paved the way for their academy driver to jump into the midfield seat after winning the F2 title.

Ferrari weren’t convinced by Leclerc at first, Kevin Magnussen has claimed. Teammate to the more experienced Marcus Ericsson, his first three results were 13th, 12th and 19th.

Magnussen says he was attracting interest from the Scuderia around that time, but Leclerc then bagged a breakout result in Azerbaijan, finishing sixth. That sparked a run of five points finishes in six races.

He also finished the year strong, scoring 24 points in the last six events (with four P7s). Ferrari’s doubts were busted, and he was promoted to the seat alongside Sebastian Vettel.

The Monegasque has now become one of the true A-listers on the F1 grid. An eight-time race-winner, he’s also notched 26 pole positions, 42 podiums and more points than any other Ferrari driver.

Sauber engineers say Gabriel Bortoleto has a similar work ethic to Charles Leclerc

According to Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli, Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is exhibiting some of Leclerc’s hallmarks. He’s currently bottom of the standings without a point on the board.

However, last year’s F2 champion impressively beat the highly-rated Nico Hulkenberg in his first-ever qualifying session in Australia. He would crash out of the race, but the treacherous conditions also caught out some of the most experienced drivers on the grid.

Bortoleto out-raced Hulkenberg in China too, so while the German is on top overall, he potentially didn’t expect to face such a strong challenge. After the Bahrain GP, some Sauber engineers likened Bortoleto’s work ethic to their former driver Leclerc.

“They ended the weekend saying ‘look, he’s working very well with the engineers, he reminds us of Charles Leclerc, the way Charles worked, always trying to improve’,” Cerasoli said. “Leclerc was on the team when they were Alfa Romeo.

“There doesn’t seem to be any problem between Gabriel and the team. They are trying to find solutions to the problems that they have both have.”

Gabriel Bortoleto did something ‘wild’ when he first drove Sauber’s F1 car

Leclerc finished his rookie year with 39 points, but right now, Bortoleto looks unlikely to hit double figures. Sauber have the slowest car in F1 and will surely be focusing on next year, when Audi will take over.

Bortoleto was given a B grade by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko before his debut, but he responded assertively. That will no doubt have impressed the Audi hierarchy.

Marko spoke to Bortoleto in China to clarify his remarks. The 20-year-old was part of the McLaren academy last year but Zak Brown’s squad released him, aware that his path was blocked.

Bortoleto looked ‘wild’ in testing when he drove the car for the first time, but that may have been a reflection of Sauber’s early troubles. Fernando Alonso’s protege may have to wait until next year before he can truly display his talent.