Gabriel Bortoleto will be one of four rookies making their debut in Formula 1 in the 2025 season.
The 20-year-old will drive with Sauber this season as the Swiss team prepares for their final year in F1. He will be partnered by Nico Hulkenberg in 2025, who returns to the team from Haas – having previously raced with Sauber in 2013.
Bortoleto is the first full-time Brazilian driver since Felipe Massa retired in 2017. He will be looking to have the same success in F1 as his fellow compatriots Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
The 20-year-old’s junior career suggests he is on the way to do that. Bortoleto won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in consecutive seasons as a rookie, beating Isack Hadjar to the latter title in 2024.
After such an impressive couple of years, the attention is on the Brazilian to continue his performances in F1. Manager Fernando Alonso thinks Bortoleto will be 2025’s best rookie after seeing what he did in F2.
Gabriel Bortoleto will be in a ‘new dimension’ with Audi in 2026
Like his teammate Hulkenberg, Bortoleto has signed a multi-year contract with Sauber, which will make him an Audi driver when the German manufacturer takes over in 2026.
The team have already made huge preparations for their arrival next year, including bringing in experienced heads Mattia Binotto as their CTO and team principal Jonathan Wheatley.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know
The signings of Hulkenberg and Bortoleto will give Audi the perfect balance of experience and young talent on track, and Fittipaldi is particularly excited to see the latter in F1 this year.
Speaking with talkSPORT’s On Track podcast, the two-time champion thinks Sauber will get better every year and will put Bortoleto in a ‘new dimension’ with Audi.
“It will be great for us Brazilians to have a Brazilian [on the grid]. Bortoleto is doing really well,” he said.
“He’s going to a team that’s going to be, in my opinion, getting better every year, Sauber. [It’s] still Sauber next year, but [in] 2026 it will be Audi.
“That means it’s going to be a new dimension as a team and we are very excited. But we need more Brazilians into Formula 1.”
Sauber finished last in the Constructors’ Championship in 2024
Audi’s arrival in F1 is an exciting prospect, but the current form of Sauber will be a major concern for the team and their new drivers.
The Swiss team were bottom of the Constructors’ Championship in 2024 as Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu desperately struggled with underperforming machinery.
Sauber enjoyed a slight improvement towards the end of the season, with Zhou picking up the team’s only points in Qatar with an impressive eighth. Bottas reached Q3 in Abu Dhabi – the only time the C44 managed to do so last season.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
With 2025 not expected to bring many changes in terms of the pecking order, Bortoleto is faced with the prospect of languishing at the back. Bottas says Sauber does not have a winning mentality – giving Audi the extra task of having to motivate the team they are inheriting.
But the Brazilian is already looking to make an impact at Sauber. Bortoleto caught everyone’s attention with his communication in post-season testing in Abu Dhabi, indicating why he is an exciting talent to look out for in 2025.
Leave feedback about this