Jonathan Wheatley believes Gabriel Bortoleto is \u201cdoing everything right\u201d as he builds his F1 career, having put in an impressive rookie season with Sauber.<\/p>\n
Bortoleto was one of the most impressive rookies in F1 2025 and is set to stay with Sauber as it morphs into the Audi factory team for the new regulation cycle.<\/p>\n
Gabriel Bortoleto on lessons learned in F1 2025<\/p>\n
Bortoleto stepped up to F1 with Sauber this year, having won the Formula 2 title in 2024.<\/p>\n
The first half of the season proved something of a slog as the Sauber proved largely uncompetitive, although Bortoleto did stack up favourably against his experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg, although, unsurprisingly, it was the German driver who scored the lion\u2019s share of the team\u2019s 70 points tally as well as the biggest results of the year.<\/p>\n
But, with 19 points on the board, Bortoleto did underline his potential with some stand-out drives, including a sixth-place finish in Hungary that proved his zenith of a solid rookie season.<\/p>\n
Heading into his second season with a greater level of experience, Bortoleto explained where he feels he\u2019s learned the most during the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the racing side, it\u2019s the technical side of things,\u201d he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amount of information I got through the year and the learning I received from the engineers and studying and doing all of these things together, it was great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like, just last year in the postseason [test] last year, I basically didn\u2019t know anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a clue what I wanted from the car, what I needed from the car. I was actually talking to my engineer, and he was like, \u2018Do you remember anything from the test last year, or do you remember how the car felt?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Man, don\u2019t ask me that now! It was so long ago and and I had no understanding, so I don\u2019t want to give you wrong feedback on things!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I like about a car, let\u2019s say, was not what I was running, for example, so that\u2019s why he was asking me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where Bortoleto also impressed was in qualifying, with the duo finishing level on 12-12 for the Grands Prix, and an even split of 3-3 in Sprint Qualifying. Given Hulkenberg\u2019s experience of over a decade, this achievement was one Bortoleto was particularly proud of.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a period of the year when I was ahead of him every quali,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then there was a period of the year when he started out-qualifying me as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have been extracting a lot of the car. You see how tight it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about the confidence you have in the car and it has been a great season, in that sense, for me, because to be matching a guy like him that is known as one of the best qualifiers in the grid, it\u2019s quite an impressive thing from my point of view, and I\u2019m very glad, because I\u2019ve been able to learn a lot from him as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Certainly, Bortoleto\u2019s rookie season impressed his Sauber team boss, Jonathan Wheatley, who said he didn\u2019t have much by way of advice to offer the young Brazilian.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know what? He\u2019s doing everything right, and he\u2019s on schedule; he\u2019s building a team around him,\u201d he said, assessing Bortoleto\u2019s year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s building his engineering team around him. He\u2019s understanding the car. He\u2019s tempering his frustration.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a young guy. You hear his radio messages, and he understands that the team\u2019s on a journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have any advice for him that I haven\u2019t already said to him in person, but I just think, if we look at his rookie season, it\u2019s a pretty outstanding season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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