Bortoleto: ‘Special’ connection with Invicta gives confidence for the rest of the season

Gabriel Bortoleto says he could not be happier working with Invicta Racing so far this season even if the results have not always gone their way.

The 2023 Formula 3 Champion made the step up to F2 this year and so far has two podiums and Pole Positions to his name. It leaves him fifth in the Drivers’ Standings with 50 points.

The Brazilian had three races across Jeddah and Melbourne in which he was forced to retire early for different reasons.

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If not for those non-scoring events, Bortoleto believes that 30-point gap to leader Paul Aron would be much less.

“It's been an okay season up until now,” Bortoleto explained. “Obviously, I wanted to be more ahead in the Championship but still it's not bad. We are P5 at the moment, we are not far away from the leaders and the people ahead.

“It's just a shame that we lost two rounds at the beginning of the season with problems that were out of my control, and that took our chances of probably scoring many more points away, but that’s racing.

“We accepted it, we moved on, we did a great round in Imola, where we poled it, finished P2 in the Feature Race, P6 in the Sprint and scored good points. In Monaco, we didn't have the best of qualis, but we still managed to get a podium and a P8, with mega pace on Sunday, so I was very happy.

“I am very confident with the team, and we are in a very special moment, where everything is working out so well. My connection with everyone there is amazing, and I am just happy to be where I am now. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season because I really think we can do very well.”

The McLaren Development Driver says that starting procedure, along with the out lap after a pitstop, have been the hardest things to adapt in F2, but recognises that there was an improvement in Monaco.

He also acknowledged the “insane” competitiveness of Formula 2 this season, highlighting how close all the teams and drivers are by looking at Trident’s Qualifying performance in Monaco.

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“I mean it's a new car for everyone and it has been insane,” he said. “There is no team that is dominating the Championship, and that can happen with the new car as some get it better than the others.

“I would say that we are in a good place because we nailed it in a good sense with the car, we found a good philosophy straight away. But the competitiveness this year is huge, everyone can do Pole at this moment of the season.

“We saw Richard Verschoor do Pole with Trident and we have seen them improving this season from the beginning and now they poled it in Monaco. So, it shows that every single team can do a good job and perform well in Barcelona and all the other tracks.”

Despite that, Bortoleto remains confident that he and Invicta can be right at the front in Barcelona and at the rest of the European circuits he has driven his “entire life”.

“I am very confident as these rounds are the rounds I have driven my entire life,” said Bortoleto. “For me it's just great to be back on tracks like Barcelona, Silverstone, Red Bull Ring. We have a triple header now that is important for me, and I am very confident that we can do very well in these rounds.

“I am excited to see what we can do there. I am sure that we will have the speed and everything to do the best we can in these weekends.”