Brand-new F1 driver has just made his engineers smile with ‘excellent’ lap times in private testing

Four of F1’s five rookies for the 2025 season competed in F2 last year. But they’ve almost slotted into the grid in reverse championship order.

For instance, champion Gabriel Bortoleto will race for Sauber, F1’s slowest team last year. The Swiss team scored just four points, courtesy of the axed Zhou Guanyu at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Bortoleto has at least secured a manufacturer contract. Audi will take control of the team at the start of the 2026 season.

Isack Hadjar, who finished runner-up in the title race, partners Yuki Tsunoda at Racing Bulls. Hadjar will hope to secure a Red Bull drive long-term.

Oliver Bearman was only 12th in the standings, but he races for seventh-place Haas. Given that he’s part of the Ferrari driver academy, his aim will be to eventually replace Lewis Hamilton.

And that just leaves Kimi Antonelli, who’s already racing for a frontrunner in Mercedes. Given that Mercedes regard Antonelli as a superstar, sixth place in F2 was perhaps a little underwhelming, but it didn’t deter Toto Wolff.

Gabriel Bortoleto delights Sauber engineers with performance in private test

Bortoleto has arguably slipped under the radar. The former McLaren junior won the F3 and F2 titles in back-to-back seasons.

Indeed, Bortoleto compared himself to Charles Leclerc – one of the few drivers to have achieved that feat. But because Sauber struggled for relevance in 2024, he’s not receiving the same attention as his former F2 rivals.

This week, the Brazilian joined new teammate Nico Hulkenberg at Imola for a test session in the 2023 car. Racing Bulls also tested at the Emilia Romagna GP circuit, with Hadjar, Tsunoda and reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa all in action.

Inevitably given his rookie status, Sauber had to practice some of the fundamentals with Bortoleto. As revealed by Motorsport Italy, he carried out 10 consecutive starts at the end of the pit lane, completing full laps in between.

In the afternoon, Bortoleto was allowed some continuous running. He eventually reached a lap time of 1:30.410, and while that may seem some way off the pace on a circuit where last year’s pole time was a 1:14.746 from Max Verstappen, he was driving in wet conditions.

In the circumstances, Bortoleto’s times drew a ‘smile’ from his engineers. His performance was apparently rated as ‘excellent’.

Fernando Alonso loves one thing about new Sauber signing Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto is part of Fernando Alonso’s A14 management company. The two-time world champion is something of a mentor figure.

Alonso is hugely impressed by Bortoleto, in particular his rate of development. Formerly part of the McLaren driver academy, he hasn’t had the same F1 testing opportunities as some of his fellow juniors.

Still, the reality is that Bortoleto faces a ‘difficult’ debut season. Sauber are unlikely to develop their car significantly ahead of the 2026 rule changes and Audi’s arrival, which could leave highly-rated veteran Nico Hulkenberg as his only reference.