Fernando Alonso has total faith in Gabriel Bortoleto (Image: Getty)
believes that the best rookie prospect heading into F1 is not ’ crown jewel or -bound junior driver , but .
The Brazilian driver won the Formula Two championship in Abu Dhabi, getting the better of ’s Isack Hadjar over the course of the sprint and feature races, and he will be making the step up onto the F1 grid in 2025.
Bortoleto had to wait to discover his fate for 2025. Sauber announced the signing of at the beginning of the year, but both and Valtteri Bottas were battling hard for extensions, while Mick Schumacher and Franco Colapinto were considered outside contenders.
In the end, though, it was Bortoleto who won out with Mattia Binotto viewing the 20-year-old as the future star of the team that will be rebranded to Audi in 2026. Now the Sao Paulo-born racer is tasked with translating his back-to-back feeder series titles in F1 in 2025.
“He’s the best,” Alonso said, “He was, in his rookie season in F3, champion. He was, in his rookie season in F2, champion. I know there are a lot of talks about the young generation – a lot of rookies also next year, very talented all of them, but the best is Gabriel.
“He showed it on track with the same cars. Obviously next year he will maybe not have the same car as some of the rookies, but I hope people do not forget that he’s better than them. He was and he will [be].”
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Gabriel Bortoleto will make his F1 debut with Sauber (Image: Getty)
Of course, Alonso is not totally free of bias in his assessment of Bortoleto. The Spaniard’s A14 Management company have overseen the Brazilian’s junior career and helped him become part of the driver academy heading into his rookie F2 campaign.
Bortoleto got his first taste of F1 machinery during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The 20-year-old completed 130 laps across the morning and afternoon sessions, making him the 18th fastest driver from a field of 23.
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“Today marked my first day as a Formula One driver – it’s an amazing feeling,” said Bortoleto in midweek. “I think overall we had a positive testing session – I put my focus on adapting to the car, learning as much as possible, getting used to the engineers, to the mechanics, everyone in the team.
“It’s safe to say that we have seen a positive first day in my new role. Formula One cars are so much quicker, it’s definitely very different from Formula Two obviously, but I’m looking forward to this new chapter. I am even more proud to be part of this team now and excited to see what we can achieve together next year.”