Who is Gabriel Bortoleto, F1’s latest Brazilian with links to Alonso?
Gabriel Bortoleto will become the 33rd F1 driver from Brazil when he makes his grand prix debut for the Stake team in Australia next year.
The current F2 title contender is to partner with the vastly experienced Nico Hulkenberg as the team prepares for Audi’s arrival in 2026, with current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu bidding farewell after three seasons together at the team.
Bortoleto will become the first full-time Brazilian on the grid since Felipe Massa in 2017 and the first since Pietro Fittipaldi deputised for the injured Romain Grosjean for the final two races of the 2020 season after his fiery Bahrain accident.
Below, RacingNews365 takes a look at who Bortoleto is…
Meet Gabriel Bortoleto
Born on October 14th, 2004 in Sao Paulo, Bortoleto began regional karting aged seven before going onto the world championships, finishing third in the OKJ class in 2018.
Moving to car racing in Europe for 2020, he debuted in Italian F4 alongside Juan Pablo Montoya’s son Sebastien at the powerhouse Prema team, taking a win at Mugello.
In 2022, he was signed to the management stable of two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso and placed at the Trident squad for an assault on the 2023 FIA F3 championship.
Up against another South American rival by the name of Franco Colapinto, Bortoleto claimed two wins and four further podiums on his way to a rookie championship title – earning himself straight promotion to F2.
After a slow start to the season, including three straight DNFs across the Saudi Arabian sprint and in Australia, Bortoleto has scored two wins and three further podiums as he is locked in a tight title fight with Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar.
With just the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds to go, Bortoleto leads Hadjar by 4.5 points.
Prior to his assault on F2, Bortoleto was signed by McLaren’s Driver Development programme, and caught the eye of new Stake boss Mattia Binotto as he evaluated whether to keep Bottas or Zhou.
McLaren chief Andrea Stella has indicated that he would be prepared to let Bortoleto leave if a good offer came his way as he would be unable to offer a race seat given Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s long-term deals.
Bortoleto will not be the youngest-ever F1 driver when he makes his debut at Albert Park, but will become the first-ever to be born in 2004.
Fellow 2024 rookies Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (2005) were born in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Below is a table of some notable Brazilian F1 drivers.
