Gabriel Bortoleto, born on 14 October 2004 in Osasco, near São Paulo, began his motorsport career in karting at eight and took third place in both the European and World Karting Championships in the OKJ class in 2018. In 2020 he moved into Italian Formula 4, winning a race in his very first season.
Via the Formula Regional European and Asian Championships, Bortoleto won the Formula 3 title in 2023 and followed it up immediately with the Formula 2 championship in 2024, including a win from last place on the grid in the Monza feature race. This made him only the fourth driver, after Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri, to win both F3 and F2 in his rookie year of each. Since 2022 he has been managed by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
For the 2025 season, Bortoleto left McLaren’s junior programme to join Sauber, becoming the first full-time Brazilian Formula 1 driver since Felipe Massa in 2017. After retiring on his debut in Melbourne, he scored the first championship points for a Brazilian driver since that same Massa race in 2017 with eighth place at the Austrian Grand Prix; his season highlight was sixth place in Hungary.
He was confirmed for 2026 alongside Hülkenberg at the team, now competing as Audi’s works squad. His great idol is fellow Brazilian and record Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna.
Championship History
Formula 3 (1)
- 2023
Formula 2 (1)
- 2024
Gabriel Bortoleto in the News
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Madring divides Formula 1: Qualifying spectacle, race-day letdown
The new Madrid street circuit delivered everything a modern F1 event needs this weekend—except good racing on the…
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Antonelli’s Sixth Win at Spa: Ferrari’s VSC Gamble Fails, Russell Out After Collision with Hamilton
Kimi Antonelli wins a Belgian Grand Prix that was never simply handed to him. Between an early safety…