Interview
Bortoleto not taking form for granted ahead of title-deciding weekends
It has been some break for Gabriel Bortoleto. In the time since he last raced in Formula 2, he has been confirmed as a Formula 1 driver for 2025, as he is set to join Kick Sauber next year.
However, the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship leader is back in the paddock and focused on the task at hand, as he aims to continue his impressive form in Lusail.
Looking ahead to how the title fight might unfold, Bortoleto believes that despite his slender points lead, no one can take anything for granted across these final race weekends.
“I think I’m going to look at this race weekend and not even think about the Championship. We know where we are, we know what we need to do but that doesn’t change the fact that Isack is close in the Standings right now.
“I think whoever has the best weekends across these last two events is going to win the Championship. We can’t count out Paul either, but I think that Isack and I are the ones at the very top with the most points and it’s going to be all about who can do the best job across these two final weekends, especially around a new track here.”
Speaking ahead of the weekend getting underway, the Invicta Racing driver said it was good to be back in the F2 paddock, adding that he was eager to get back onto track and fight for more strong results.
He was the centre of attention in Brazil and in the week afterwards as he was confirmed as the latest F2 graduate to be stepping up to Formula 1 next season.
“I decided to stay home for quite a while. After that announcement, I didn't go back to Brazil and was very enjoyable to be home, to just relax, live my life like I always did, and prepare a lot with my team at home.
“We just treated it the same as we normally do, checking a lot of onboard videos and races in the past years. So, it was very good to prepare like all the other rounds, and I feel very ready for these two upcoming weekends.
“But it feels amazing. Becoming a Formula 1 driver has been my dream since I was seven when I started racing. For me, it’s a dream come true. All the work that my family and I have put in all these years, all the sponsors and everyone working towards this dream, for it to happen is amazing.
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“Obviously though, there’s still two rounds to go and the focus is here. The priority is this year but I’m very excited for next year.
“It has been a crazy schedule. There was a lot of media time and attention on me there, all the rumours were flying around so for me it was crazy.
“But it was important for me to be there, a lot of PR stuff to do and the support from everyone was just mega too. It was amazing to be there in Brazil.”
Back to the race weekend in Qatar, Bortoleto says the track is an intriguing prospect, with its high-speed nature making Qualifying a must-watch session.
After getting to see the circuit in person on his track walk, the Brazilian says that he is feeling confident about his and the team’s chances going into the race weekend proper.
“I did the track walk earlier and it looks very nice. A lot of high-speed corners that kind of combine with others, so it will be interesting to see who finds a good balance in the car and not be too compromised.
“It will be interesting, and I am looking forward to it. We have the Medium and Hard compound tyres, no Softs here, so let’s see how we go, but I’m looking forward to it and we’re confident that we can do a good job here.”
While title rival Isack Hadjar has been enduring a rough patch in form and has failed to score in the past two race weekends, Bortoleto has capitalised to take over the lead in the Standings.
After his last-to-first Monza Feature Race victory, he added more points to his ’24 tally in Baku last time out and is confident that form will continue this weekend.
He says that while the start of 2024 did not go according to plan, he has found his feet and the team is working in perfect sync as we reach the final races of the campaign.
“For me, the biggest thing this year was the progression we did, and the recent rounds we have done. We have been scoring a lot of points and progressively getting better and better. So I see a lot of positive things.
“These last two rounds are going to be important, but if we keep going in that same direction we have been going in over the last few rounds, it should be very good for us as a team and myself in the Drivers’ Championship as well.
“Consistency is something very important, especially in a Championship that’s long. But I think that was natural for me last year. We were not so consistent at the beginning of this year, because I was not able to show what I think was a strength for me from last year.
“It was quite frustrating but as soon as things started to connect, we started to put laps together in Qualifying, doing nice races, points, podiums and wins. So that that was something very nice to see and the progression we’ve had I’ve been very happy with.”