Gabriel Bortoleto laughed at one question in Bahrain that highlights how bad Sauber’s 2025 F1 car is

Gabriel Bortoleto is facing a familiar situation to any driver who has had to race for Sauber over the past few seasons.

After completing the Formula 3 and Formula 2 double, Gabriel Bortoleto’s prospects of an immediate seat in F1 looked slim.

He was part of McLaren’s academy, and while he was highly rated by the team, they weren’t going to let Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri leave just to make way for the exciting Brazilian.

And so, after months of speculating about what to do with their current driver line-up, Sauber took a calculated risk on Bortoleto.

The fact that Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu looked relieved in the paddock this season in their respective roles as Mercedes’ and Ferrari’s reserve drivers says everything you need to know about the team’s recent cars.

Sauber benefited from Nico Hulkenberg managing to score six points on his second debut with the team at the Australian Grand Prix, with the torrential rain causing chaos.

Since then, they’ve been way off the pace, and Bortoleto laughed at one question about the team’s progress during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know

Gabriel Bortoleto laughed at Sauber’s 2025 F1 car performance window question

Journalists Edd Straw and Samarth Kanal were speaking on The Race F1 Podcast about Sauber and their progress this season.

Sauber’s car looked ‘awful’ in testing, but the updates they brought in Australia have marginally helped the team progress.

Straw explained: “It’s funny, he was quite disappointing after the race but I was trying to get a feel, as I get the feeling there’s a bit of division in Sauber as to whether it’s a good baseline that they can just build upwards from, or whether there’s something a bit more fundamental that they need to work on which will be that sensitivity.

“I said to Bortoleto, ‘Well, does it at least feel like there’s a baseline there that you can improve from, or is it challenging balance-wise?’

“I said it does at least seem to be a bit better to drive than in pre-season, and he just said, ‘I’m not sure about that,’ which I thought was quite damming.

“Sauber were quite pleased with the upgrades they brought to Australia that made a difference, with everyone saying they were terrible off the back.

“Now, Bortoleto wasn’t long out of the car then, he’d had a fairly miserable afternoon, so I think he would probably concede that the car is better to drive than it was in pre-season testing.

“But, it still was not good to drive, you could tell that from trackside.”

Kanal replied: “I did ask him if there’s a performance window on this car, and he just laughed and went, ‘Ha ha, no!’”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

Sauber’s impossible-to-drive car has been clear to see for fans this season

Bortoleto has impressed his Sauber bosses with his ability to give accurate feedback on the car and take on the vast amount of information a rookie has to deal with during their first season on the grid.

However, there’s only so much that he or Hulkenberg can do in the car that they’ve been given.

Onboard footage of Hulkenberg’s car in China horrified fans as both drivers slipped off the track, ending their incredibly faint hopes of scoring points.

Bortoleto and Hulkenberg are putting their faith in Audi improving the team’s situation going into 2026.

However, they’re starting from such a low point that even newcomers, Cadillac, might fancy their chances against them next season.