How Alonso saved Sauber rookie Bortoleto’s racing career before his back-to-back F3 and F2 titles

Brazilian racer Gabriel Bortoleto arrives in Formula 1 as a member of a very exclusive club. Last year, the 20-year-old joined Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri as the only drivers in history to win the F3 and F2 titles in consecutive years.

He's in fine company when it comes to neighbours, too, the Brazilian having only last month moved to his new digs in Monaco – which is home to at least half the current F1 grid including Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Ollie Bearman.

READ MORE: Who is Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know about Kick Sauber’s new recruit

This year, he’ll make his Formula 1 racing debut with Kick Sauber – and thus has spent much of his 2025 in Switzerland at the team’s headquarters in Hinwil, just outside Zurich, getting to know his new colleagues.

“It’s been very intense preparation work here at Sauber, coming here two or three times a week, focused doing a lot of simulator work, being with the engineers, understanding how they speak between each other, how they want me to speak with them, how I want them to speak with me,” he told F1.com.

“I want to be very close to them and create a very good relationship before the season starts. It’s something I’ve always done, especially in the last two years with my teams in F2 and F3, so when we started the season in the first round, it looks like we have been together already for years.”

That work ethic was one of the traits that is believed to have really impressed Sauber chief Mattia Binotto – though he’s not the Brazilian’s only admirer. Double world champion Fernando Alonso’s management firm A14 snapped up Bortoleto at a point when his career was hanging in the balance.

“We had so many issues in 2022,” recalls Bortoleto. “We were not being followed by anyone at the time. It was just me and my father and I didn’t have an opportunity to go to F3 at the time.

“We didn’t know how difficult it was to get a seat in F3. We thought ‘Oh we’re still in July, we have time’. Then I started hearing PREMA was full, Trident was almost full and I thought maybe we should start pushing for it.

READ MORE: ‘The plan was always to be together’ – Bortoleto on his Sauber arrival, learning from Alonso and the support from Brazil

“It’s not easy, you need to find the sponsors to help you get there. Then my father went to race in the Red Bull Ring with some friends. He met Fernando and [his long-time friends] Alberto [Fernandez Albilares] and Albert [Resclosa Coll, the trio together formed the management agency A14].

“Fernando knew who I was as I raced for his team in FRECA [the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine]. I had some great results for the team like the first podium, the first front row.

“Both of us wanted to be together, me having a good management team, and them trusting in a young driver who could potentially do good results in the future. They called Trident and it was quite a crazy thing. Everything worked out very well. We signed, we won the championship – and it became very nice.”

Having a driver of Alonso’s quality on your side is significant. The Spaniard is considered one of the most talented drivers F1 has ever seen – and continues to race in F1 at the age of 43, 24 years after he made his debut in the sport. That he believes in Bortoleto only adds weight to the opinion he is something special.

READ MORE > ANALYSIS: Why Sauber chose to go with Bortoleto and youth rather than Bottas and experience

“We have a very good relationship with each other,” says Bortoleto. “I think it’s mainly a professional relationship. Always when we talk, it’s mainly about racing. When I see him on track, if I have any questions, he always helped me in F3 and F2.

“I can say I’m very grateful for all the advice he has given me the last two years. He has been very good to me. He’s willing to help and teach me. It’s a great thing to have him behind.

“It’s a strong name to have behind you. When you have Fernando Alonso managing you, it’s a bit different because they know it’s someone like him trusting you can be a future talent.”

Bortoleto will be in good company in terms of generational rivals as he’s one of five rookies on the grid this year, along with Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), his F2 title rival Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Jack Doohan (Alpine).

READ MORE > F1 ROOKIES LOWDOWN: Your comprehensive guide to the young drivers joining the Formula 1 grid in 2025

“We raced each other since we were 10 years [old],” he says. “Ollie from the rookies is the closest one to me. Kimi is a very nice guy. Jack has always been one series ahead of me, we haven’t had much contact but we talked to each other.

“I have a good relationship with everyone. Isack – anyone who followed F2 last year will have seen the intense battle we had, going 0.5 points between us to Abu Dhabi. It’s been nice to fight with him. I’m excited to see all of us on the grid – it’s a big renovation of Formula 1.”

Bortoleto will arguably have the toughest job of all of those new faces, given he’s joined the team that finished last in the 2024 Teams’ Championship – and because he signed a deal so late, he didn’t have scope to do unrestricted TPC (Testing of Previous Car) testing to get him up to speed.

Instead, he’s done the permitted 1000km of running in two-year old cars, as is allowed for current race drivers, and has spent countless hours in the simulator in a bid to be as prepared as possible.

Not ideal – but he’s as best prepared as he can be and if his recent form is anything to go by, winning his last two championships at the first time of asking, he tends to hit the ground running anyway.

F1 NATION: Gabriel Bortoleto on his ‘dream’ F1 chance with Kick Sauber, guidance from Alonso and flying the flag for Brazil

DISCOVER MORE...

Dramatic collisions, shock winners and drivers on strike – 8 of the most chaotic season openers in F1 history

Epic road trips, rapping with Tsunoda and strange glasses – Getting to know the real Isack Hadjar

5 Winners and 5 Losers from Australia – Who started their season in style?

‘I felt for him like a father’ – Anthony Hamilton reveals what he said to Hadjar in heartfelt embrace

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Spins, heartbreak but also early success – how did the 2025 rookies fare in Melbourne?