Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto highlighted significant progress from the Stake F1 Team | Kick Sauber during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, held this Sunday (18) in Imola, Italy. In his rookie Formula 1 season, the São Paulo native from Osasco showed strong performance in free practice and reached Q2 in qualifying once again — for the third time this year.

On Friday, Bortoleto impressed by finishing ninth in the first free practice session, marking his best performance in a session so far. In FP2, he placed 16th. “We started off well. The car was competitive, and our race pace looked promising,” summarized Gabriel, who had a minor off-track moment in the first session with no consequences.

Consistent Qualifying

Saturday proved to be more challenging, but the Brazilian managed to advance to Q2 and secured 14th place on the grid. “We had a clean qualifying and got the most out of the car. Overtaking here is tough, so the race will rely on strategy,” explained the 20-year-old driver after the session.
Bad luck strikes during the race

The race had the potential to be Gabriel’s best of the year. He had a strong start, maintained 14th on medium tires, and was aiming for a one-stop strategy. However, the Virtual Safety Car came out shortly after his pit stop, eliminating any chance of fighting for points as it favored rivals who had not yet pitted.
Later, with the appearance of the full Safety Car, Bortoleto pitted again and dropped to the back of the field. On medium tires, he experienced a drop in performance and was forced to pit once more on lap 46. He crossed the finish line in 18th, frustrated by the misfortune.

“Our pace on the hard tires was good, but the Safety Car came at the worst possible time for our strategy. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The result doesn’t reflect the progress we made, but we keep pushing. Still, I’m happy with this small improvement in terms of pace, even if the results don’t show it. Now it’s time to analyze, understand where we can do better, and focus on the next race in Monaco next week,” he said.

Next stop: Monaco

F1 returns next week with the traditional Monaco Grand Prix, taking place from May 23 to 25 on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Pictures: Stake F1 Team | Kick Sauber

Press office of Gabriel Bortoleto
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick