Gabriel Bortoleto is used to winning and fight🌜ing at the sharp enꦆd.

The 20-y♊ear-old Brazilian won the Formula 3 title at the first attempt in 2023, before going on to be crowned Formula 2 champion a year later.

In doing so, Bortoleto achieved a feat only managed by three other drivers; 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oscar Piastri, the current F1 championship leader, Mercedes’ , and Ferrari’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc.

Bortoleto was rewarded with F1 promotion for 2025, but his rookie season has been quit🔯e an adjustment process, having made his grand prix debut with Sauber🌟, the team who ended 2024 dead last in the constructors’ championship.

Sauber have generally had the slowest package in the 2025 F1 field, though a big upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix helped 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Nico Hulkenberg land the team’s best result of ✅the season, and only their second points finish.

Bortoleto is yet to score his first points in F1, registering a best finish of 12th in Barcelona, but he 🐬has done a very respectable job against his vastly experienced teammate across the first opening nine grands prix, particularly in qualifying.

Speaking exclusively to ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Bortoleto rather reluctant🙈ly gave himself an “8.5/9” out of 10 when asked to rank how his first F1 se🌌ason was going.

“I’m quite happy with what I’ve been doing this year. Obviously🌳 it’s not 💧the position we want to be [in],” Bortoleto said.

“There is still a lot to play with. We believe we deserve to be fighting for points at least but we are not quite the🦄re yet as a team. But I’m quite happy with what I’ve been doing.

“I think I’ve been performing very well in qualifying sessions. I still need to make some progress in the race, understanding a bi☂t better the situations in race conditions through the whole race.

“But I think this comes with experience and I am going to get there. But it has been so far very good. I have quite decent pac🌠e so that makes me happy.

“I’m not struggling wi🃏th that so far and hopefully we can keep going like this and when we have a competitive car we will be fighting for bigger th𝐆ings.”

Asked what he has found ꦑto be the biggest challenge in stepping up ♑from F2 to F1, Bortoleto replied: “Dealing with everything Formula 1 is!

“There’s so many things. So many things involved. Savi🐷ng the energy through the weekends. The weekends h𒅌ere are quite busy.

"There is so much media stuff to attend, so many sponsor things to attend for the team. A lot of data information that we have in ꦕthe car, more than F2, so we need to study more in that sense.

“A lot of different things in Formula 1 but I♛’m getting used to it.”

Adapting to a big mindset change

For Bor𓄧toleto, the challenge of helping push Sauber up the F1🌳 pecking order ahead of their transition into Audi next year has required a big mindset switch.

For the pꦡast two seasons, Bortoleto, a protege of, rarely finished outside of the top 10 and he ended a championship-crowning 2024 campaign with two victories and eight podium finishes.

In F1, Bortoleto has had to get used to the fꦺeeling of not being a🌟ble to fight for wins or front-running positions, something he admits has been “quite a big challenge” but one he has “been dealing with quite well”.

“I think when you fight you for wins, you get used to the feeling of 🎃winning and it’s addictive,” Bortoleto explained. “That’s a feeling that you never want to lose because winning is great. You know you are doing a great job.

"When you are not winning it just feels like you are always lacking something. In this position we are right now, we are far from winning and we sti🌺ll need to make a lot of steps to get there.

“Bu꧟t what makes me confident about the journey is the project we have ahead of us with Audi and everythin🗹g we can achieve as a team, together with Nico [Hulkenberg] next year.

“So I’m really excited for that and𒁃 looking forward to winning again one day, hopefully soon, and to have that feeling of standing up on the car and celebrating something big.”

Bortoleto beat Racing Bulls’ 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Isack Hadjar to the F2 title last year and also finished ahead of Mercedes’ 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Kimi Antonelli but now finds himself🐈 unable to battle with either.

He arguably has the toughest job out of F1 20🎶25’s rookie contingent, so is he frustrated?

“I’m not going to say it’s frustrating 🐓because I’m glad of the opportunity to be in Formula 1,” he re👍sponded to that question.

“There’s a lot of drivers that would love to be in my position right now and it doesn’t matter what position they would finish in the race. So it’🤪s not frustrating.

“But it’s tough to see everyo🐠ne you’ve raced your whole life, guys that I’ve raced last﷽ year and the previous year and I beat them.

“To see them doing well, I’m happy for th𒅌em because it proves I was beating these people and they are doing well in Formula 1, they are great drivers and I have huge admiration for these guys, and I know I can do that.

"It’s just about having patience. ꧋This has been the biggest learning I’ve had this year, having patience and waiting because my time will come.”

Bortoleto can take heart from the likes of Leclerc and Russell, both of whom started out in F1 towards the back but are now considered two of the b൩est drivers 💙on the grid.

“Definitely I think having 🐬tough years, they are needed to become a better driver and person,” Bortoleto said.

“If I could, I would like to be already fighting for podiums, for wins, for points mo🌼re constantly at least. T🦹hat has not been the case yet.

“George Russell had a very tough first year, I don’t think he s🦂cored a single point, and look where he is right now. Peop༒le don’t remember that.

“What is important is that one day I get to level and then I’ll be happy 🌊🥂with where I am going to be.”