Invicta Virtuosi Racing announce Gabriel Bortoleto and Kush Maini for 2024 season

Invicta Virtuosi Racing have confirmed their line-up for the 2024 Formula 2 season with Alpine junior Kush Maini and 2023 Formula 3 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto joining the team.

The Indian driver competed this year with Campos Racing in what was his rookie campaign. He achieved 12 points finishes and a podium in the Melbourne Sprint Race during an impressive season.

Bortoleto became the first Brazilian to win the F3 title and won in convincing fashion, taking two Feature Race victories and a further four podiums en route to the Championship. He failed to score on just three occasions during the ’23 season, achieving an unmatched level of consistency with 15 scoring results from a possible 18.

Prior to his title-winning F3 campaign, the 19-year-old achieved wins in Italian F4 and Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine between 2020 and 2022 before his move up to F3 in 2023.

Reflecting on his graduation to F2, McLaren junior Bortoleto said he was looking to adapt quickly to the Championship and continue his winning ways into next year.

“I am very excited to announce that in the 2024 season, I will be competing with Invicta Virtuosi Racing in FIA Formula 2. They have a winning history, having secured the runner-up position in the team championship three times, and together, our goal will be to aim for the best positions for the team.

“In 2023, they achieved pole positions and victories, and I hope to build a strong and consistent story with them throughout the year. We will have a new car in the championship, and our first challenge will be to adapt quickly and efficiently to start the year on a high note.

“I am coming from a season of significant personal growth, culminating in the FIA F3 title. I hope to continue this process of evolution as a driver in 2024 and naturally become a victorious driver in the next stages of my career.”

Starting out in single seaters in Italian F4 in 2016, Maini claimed podium finishes in the series before moving up to British F3 where he finished third and second overall in 2018 and 2020 respectively. He moved up to FIA F3 in 2022 and finished 14th before graduating to Formula 2 this year and impressing in his first full season.

Maini said that he was excited to be joining a team with Virtuosi’s pedigree and that securing further silverware was the objective in 2024.

“I'm super excited and grateful to be joining Invicta Virtuosi Racing for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship. They have a great pedigree in Formula 2 and, prior to that, in GP2, and I am looking forward to growing further as a racing driver with the team. A massive thank you to Invicta Virtuosi for putting their trust in me and to the Alpine Academy and my management team for their support. I’ll do my best to hopefully bring many trophies back to the workshop.”

Team Principal Andy Roche added that Bortoleto’s F3 exploits had been hugely impressive and promised much with his move to F2, while Maini’s results in 2023 were promising ahead of his second year in the Championship.

“We’re delighted to have Gabriel Bortoleto joining us for his debut season in Formula 2. His consistency throughout his rookie campaign in Formula 3 impressed everyone and earned him a convincing and thoroughly deserved championship victory. This was acknowledged by the world of F1 as he became a McLaren Development Driver.

“Gabriel has visited us at our base in Norfolk and kept in touch since his signing. He’s left a good impression on everyone here and has quickly become part of the team. We were impressed by his adaptation to Formula 3 and, like everyone, are excited to see what he can do in 2024 as he continues to hone and add to his already admirable skillset.

“Kush has had a solid debut season in Formula 2. He got up to speed immediately and was able to produce good results in 2023. We’ve already spent considerable time with Kush since he first signed for the team and his mentality and approach align well with ours.

“He has shown dedication and an impressive work effort, and we look forward to helping him add to his F2 podium tally as he continues to improve as a racing driver. He joins Gabriel Bortoleto at the team for 2024, and we are expecting to achieve big things with such a strong duo at the wheel.”