What Gabriel Bortoleto is doing behind the scenes that Sauber love despite sitting bottom of the F1 championship

Gabriel Bortoleto has achieved his dream of reaching Formula 1 after completing one of the most impressive junior racing careers in recent history.

Very few drivers can claim to have won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, but Gabriel Bortoleto added his name to that list last season.

He follows in the footsteps of F1 race winners Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri in achieving that feat and has taken a somewhat similar first step into the sport as a result.

Leclerc spent a year with Sauber before earning his Ferrari promotion, while Mercedes regret leaving Russell at Williams for three years before he replaced Valtteri Bottas.

Although Piastri has only ever raced for McLaren, he was in Alpine’s academy for a year before his debut, and McLaren were not the force they are now when he first appeared on the grid in 2023.

Bortoleto faces a similar issue at Sauber this year, racing alongside Nico Hulkenberg in what could be considered the slowest car on the grid.

The young Brazilian is currently last in the drivers’ championship, but that’s not a concern for new team principal Jonathan Wheatley.

The 20-year-old is turning heads within the Sauber garage for all the right reasons, even if he hasn’t threatened the top 10 just yet.

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

Sauber impressed with Gabriel Bortoleto’s feedback this season

Journalist Julianne Cerasoli was speaking on her YouTube channel about Bortoleto’s performance at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Bortoleto faced an extra challenge in Japan, and after starting 17th, he finished P19, with Sauber’s strategy gamble not paying off.

Cerasoli explained: “He didn’t have the pace, but the issue of the start and qualifying.

“He was ahead of Hulkenberg during his first run, he was ahead of Hulkenberg in his second run and we have to value that, and in the third attempt, I heard the conversation with his engineer, and he said, ‘Change the flap of the front wing and do one more lap.’

“He then said, ‘No, because I’m afraid of losing traction at the exit of the corner, so let’s leave it the way it is.’

Bortoleto then said, ‘I learned that to keep up with the evolution of the track, I have to keep changing the car.’

The first leg of the triple header saw the team run split strategies, with a challenging start for Gabi and strong battles from Nico in a tightly contested midfield race at Suzuka. 🇯🇵

We now move our focus to the second weekend in the triple header, Bahrain 💪 pic.twitter.com/IIhHNQ2cVu

— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) April 6, 2025

“He didn’t do it, it’s a learning experience, next time he’ll do it. Everything is running in a very natural way and the team is very happy with him.

“I went to talk to them after the race, they said that it draws a lot of attention because Gabriel is pushy, in the sense of when to be determined, when he wants something in the car.

“And of course, he asks for it politely, they emphasized that, but he said, ‘No, I need this in my car,’ and they are liking this attitude.

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

How Nico Hulkenberg is helping Gabriel Bortoleto get up to speed at Sauber

Bortoleto only has three F1 races under his belt, compared to Hulkenberg’s 230 Grand Prix starts.

Unsurprisingly, Hulkenberg has a lot of knowledge that could aid his young teammate and explaining what he’s doing behind the scenes to help Bortoleto, Cerasoli explained: “Another thing they told me is that they think it’s been very valuable for him to have Nico as a teammate because Nico is very detail-oriented, much more than most other drivers regarding the feedback he gives to the engineers, and Gabriel is always very attentive to the way Nico works.

“So, everything is moving in the right direction. And these small mistakes he’s making, he’s learning from them, so he doesn’t make them again in the future.

“He’s at the very beginning of his journey in Formula 1.”

Bortoleto is clearly very talented, but may need another freak race like the one in Australia, where Hulkenberg scored points to challenge for a top 10 position.

Sauber’s car has looked impossible to drive at times, but there will be hope within the team that can improve over the coming months.

Meanwhile, F1 Oversteer believe Audi have been particularly impressed by Bortoleto’s start and are already planning for him to be one of their two drivers for their first season in F1 in 2026.