Gabriel Bortoleto is beginning preparations for his rookie season in F1 with Sauber in 2025.
The Brazilian joins the pinnacle of motorsport off the back of winning the F3 and F2 titles in consecutive seasons as a rookie. He joins the likes of George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri to have achieved this feat.
Bortoleto beat Isack Hadjar – who has joined Racing Bulls for 2025 – to the F2 title in 2024. The 20-year-old had been part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, but he will move on to pastures new in F1.
Bortoleto has signed a multi-year deal with Sauber, becoming the first full-time Brazilian F1 driver since Felipe Massa in 2017. The F2 champion will partner with Nico Hulkenberg as he returns to the Hinwil-based outfit from Haas.
Emerson Fittipaldi says Bortoleto will enter ‘a new dimension’ with Sauber as the team will transition into Audi in 2026. The Brazilian is looking to integrate himself into the team quickly to prepare for the German manufacturer’s arrival.
Bortoleto impressed Sauber engineers in a private test at Imola with his lap times in the 2023 car. The Brazilian completed another TPC test in Barcelona this week – and a fellow F2 champion could only watch on as he is set for another spell on the sidelines.
Felipe Drugovich tells Gabriel Bortoleto he needs a drive after watching his testing footage
The chaotic driver market produced 10 driver transfers for the 2025 season. Only McLaren and Aston Martin kept their line-ups the same from 2024.
| Driver | Transfer |
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes to Ferrari |
| Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes (Rookie) |
| Carlos Sainz | Ferrari to Williams |
| Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls to Red Bull |
| Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls (Rookie) |
| Esteban Ocon | Alpine to Haas |
| Oliver Bearman | Haas (Rookie) |
| Jack Doohan | Alpine (Rookie) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Haas to Sauber |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber (Rookie) |
With the latter retaining Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll on long-term contracts, it means that the Silverstone-based team’s reserve driver Felipe Drugovich is set to be stuck out of the cockpit for some time.
The Brazilian won the F2 title in 2022 – since then he has served as Aston Martin’s reserve as he patiently waited for an opportunity. Drugovich has made several appearances in FP1 sessions for the team.
READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Fans were chanting for Drugovich in Sao Paulo after Stroll crashed on the formation lap of the race. But the 24-year-old has been repeatedly snubbed of a race seat and is not looking likely to find one with Aston Martin.
Drugovich will remain as the team’s reserve for 2025, but after watching Bortoleto’s testing footage for Sauber in Barcelona on Instagram, he could not help but express how he is still waiting for that chance in F1.
He commented on his fellow compatriot’s account in Portuguese: ‘Huh, I need a ride’.
Could Felipe Drugovich have another route to F1 besides Aston Martin?
Drugovich is set to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship this year and recently competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. But his main goal remains racing in F1.
Liam Lawson says it’s ‘crazy’ Drugovich does not have a race seat yet after winning the F2 title in 2022. Bruno Junqueira blames Drugovich’s manager for not finding him a seat, believing he is the main factor in the Brazilian not being on the grid.
With Aston Martin not having a seat available until at least 2026, the 24-year-old will likely have to look elsewhere if he wants to land a full-time drive.
Sauber are reportedly in talks to sign Drugovich as the reserve driver behind Bortoleto and Hulkenberg. But like Aston Martin, they too do not have a seat available until 2026 with their two drivers’ contracts.
Cadillac could also be an option given his connections to the team in IMSA. If he can impress the American brand in sports car racing, he will surely be a candidate for a seat in F1 when they join the grid in 2026.
