It has been a low-key start to the rookie season for Gabriel Bortoleto in Formula 1, having began life at Sauber.
Bortoleto has a best finishing position of 14th place at the Chinese GP, but has so far finished towards the rear of the field in 19th and 18th place.
This is owing to the Sauber being one of the slowest cars on the grid, with the team having switched its focus to 2026 for when German car maker Audi takes over.
Bortoleto has struggled to get to grips in the races, but former F1 driver and fellow Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr had made a prediction based on what he saw in the junior formulas when speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast.
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Nelson Piquet predicts Gabriel Bortoleto will beat Nico Hülkenberg
Bortoleto has gained some attention for beating Hulkenberg on occasion this year, particularly as the German is known for being one of F1’s best qualifiers.
Piquet believes Bortoleto will be more comfortable at circuits that he knows, particularly during the European swing when F1 visits tracks that were on the F2 calendar.
“These are the weekends when he has more mileage. He knows the track, but it will be different from when he enters Europe. Monaco, places like this he already knows well,” said Piquet.
“It will be there that we see his evolution and then we see him qualifying ahead of Hulkenberg for two or three weeks in a row, finishing races in front.”
Gabriel Bortoleto could finish ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in 2025
Hulkenberg is one of F1’s most experienced drivers but he is struggling to adapt to being in a slower package than what he had at Haas.
The German is now in his 13th full season having also been with Sauber in 2013, and has a reputation among F1 engineers for being one of the best qualifiers.
| Category | Nico Hulkenberg | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| 2024 points | 6 | 0 |
| Grand Prix results | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 3 | 1 |
| Grand Prix wins | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix poles | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 0 | 0 |
| Best finish | 7th | 14th |
| Retirements | 0 | 0 |
| Disqualifications | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 1 | 0 |
| Sprint results | 0 | 1 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 0 | 1 |
| Sprint wins | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint poles | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint podiums | 0 | 0 |
Bortoleto also thinks Hulkenberg is the best qualifier in F1, although there is scope for the Brazilian to beat him when they get to the European rounds.
He was strongest in F2 when at these tracks, particularly the Red Bull Ring where he won the Feature Race and at Silverstone and Spa, both high-speed circuits.
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