Gabrওiel Bortoleto is used to winning and fighting at the sharp en𒐪d.

The 20-year-old Brazilian won the Formula 3 title ✃at thඣe first attempt in 2023, before going on to be crowned Formula 2 champion a year later.

In doing so, Bortoleto achieved a feat only managed by three other drivers; 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Oscar Piastri, the current F1 championship leader, Mercedes’ , and Ferrari’s 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Charles Leclerc.

Bortoleto was rewarded with F1 promotion for 2025, but his rookie season has been quite an adjustment p🔯rocess, having made his grand prix debut with Sauber, the team who ended 2024 dead last in the construc꧟tors’ championship.

Sauber have generally had the slowest package in the 2025 F1 field, though a big upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix helped 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Nico Hulkenberg lan💝d the team’s best result of the season, and only their second points finish.

Bortoleto is yet to score his first points in F1, registering a best finish of 12th in Barcelona, but he has done a very respectable job against his vastly experienced teammate across the first o𒀰pening nine grands pri🦹x, particularly in qualifying.

Speaking exclusively to ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Bortoleto rather reluctantly gave h🀅imself an “8.5/9” out of 10 whe♎n asked to rank how his first F1 season was going.

“I’m quite happy with what I’ve been doing this year. Obviou⛄sly it’s not the position we want to be [i✱n],” Bortoleto said.

“There is still a lot to play with. We believe we deserve to be fighting for♌ points at least but we are not quite there yet as a team. But I’m quite happy with what I’ve been doing.

“I think I’ve been per൩forming very well in qualifying sessions. I still need to make some progress in the race, understanding a bit better the situations in race conditions through the whole race.

“But I think this comeꦚs with experience and I am going to get there. But it has been so far very good. I have quite decent pa𒐪ce so that makes me happy.

“I’m not 🤡struggling with that so far and hopefully we can keep going like this and 💧when we have a competitive car we will be fighting for bigger things.”

Asked what he has found to be the biggest challenge in stepping up from F2 🐈to F1, Bort🃏oleto replied: “Dealing with everything Formula 1 is!

“There’s so many things. So mౠany things involved. Saving the energy through the weekends. Th🎃e weekends here are quite busy.

"There is so much media stuff to attend, so many sponsor things to attend fo✅r the team. A lot of data information that we have in the car, more than F2, so we need to study more in t💖hat sense.

“A lot ♏of different things in Formula 1 but 🔜I’m getting used to it.”

Adapting to a big mindset change

For Bortoleto, the challenge of helping push Sauber up the F1 pecking order ahead of their transition into Audi next year💦 has required a big mindset switch.

For the past two seasons, Bortoleto, a protege of, rarely finished outside of the top 10 and he ended a championship-crowning 2024 campaign with two 🐻victories and eight podium finishes.

In F1, Bortoleto has had to get used to the feeling of not being able to fight for wins or front-running positions, something he admits 💯has been “quite a big challenge” but one he has “been dealing with q𝐆uite well”.

“I think when you fight you for wins, you get used to the feeling of winning and it’s addictive,” Bortoleto explaine🍌d. “That’s a feeling that you never want to lose because winning is great. You know you are doing a great job.

"When you are not♊ winning it just feels like you are always lacking something. In this position we are right now, we are far from winning and we still need to make a lot of steps to get there.

“But what makes me confident꧂ about the journey is the project we have ahead of us with Audi and everything we♒ can achieve as a team, together with Nico [Hulkenberg] next year.

“So I’m really excited for that and looking forward to winning again one day, hopefully soon, and to have that feeling of standing up ꩲon the car🧜 and celebrating something big.”

Bortoleto beat Racing Bulls’ 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Isack Hadjar to the F2 title last year and also finished ahead of Mercedes’ 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Kimi Antonelli but now fiꦦnds himself unable to battle with ei✨ther.

He arguably has the toughest job out of F1 2025’s rookie contin꧋gent, so is hꦦe frustrated?

“I’m not going to say it’s frustꦜrating because I’m glad of the opportunity to be in Formula 1,” he responded to that question.

“There’s a lot of drivers that would love to be in my position right now and it doesn’t matter what position they would finish in the rac꧅e. So it’s not frustrating.

“But it’s tough to see everyone you’ve raced your whole life, guys that I’ve raced last year and the pr✤evious year and I beat them.

“To see them doing welꩲl, I’m happy for them because it proves I was beating these people and they are doing well in Formula 1, they are great drivers and I have huge admiration for these ꦯguys, and I know I can do that.

"It’s just about having patience. This has been the biggest le🐻arning I’ve had this year, having patience and waiting because my time will come.”

Bortoleto can take heart from the likes of Leclerc and Russell, both of whom started out in F1 towards the back but are now considered two of the best drive🌄rs on the grid.

“Definitely I think having tough years, they are needed to become a better driver and 🦂person,” Bortoleto said.

“If I could, I would like to be already fig✅hting for podiums, for wins, for points more constantly at least. That has not been the case yet.

“George Russell had a very tough first year, I don’t🧜 think he🅷 scored a single point, and look where he is right now. People don’t remember that.

“What is important is that one day I getꦓ to level and then I’ll be happy with where I am going to be.”