After almost two months, the F2 World Championship resumes its calendar in Imola

The FIA F2 Championship, the final step for a driver before reaching F1, resumes this weekend after its stint in the Middle East and Oceania. Kicking off the European phase of the competition, drivers and teams land this Thursday (16th) in Imola, Italy, for the fourth round of the season.

In his debut year in the competition, following his victory in the F3 World Championship in 2023, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto is very excited. He secured pole position at the season opener in March and has prepared intensely in recent weeks, believing he is ready for the challenges ahead.

Last month, in Barcelona, Spain, aboard the #10 car for Virtuosi Racing, the McLaren development program driver completed an impressive 247 laps over three days. Following a strict schedule set by the team’s engineering squad, Gabriel was one of the highlights, leading one of the practice sessions, conducting race simulations, qualifying runs, and providing a vast data bank for the engineers to work with for the remaining 11 stages of the Championship.

The track at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is special to Gabriel. He doesn’t hide that this is his favorite track of the season, making him even more confident in seeking his best results of the year so far. The 4.909 km track is very fast, with four long sectors of full acceleration interspersed with 19 corners of varying difficulty. The Sprint Race on Saturday (18th) will last 25 laps, and the Feature Race on Sunday morning will total 35 laps. The track record belongs to Estonian Juri Vips, set in 2022 with a time of 1m40.221s.

“I couldn’t wait to get back to racing. It feels like these two months took a year to pass,” joked the 19-year-old Brazilian. “During this break, I haven’t stopped preparing for a single day, whether through physical training, simulator sessions, or our three days of testing in Barcelona. After the problems in Melbourne, where I couldn’t complete five laps across both races, I feel I’m at my peak preparation level for the rest of the Championship. We have a car that has already proven to be very fast and reliable on different circuits, and now it’s time to look ahead and aim for top positions. For me, there was no better place to resume the Championship. I love the Imola circuit, and unlike those who feel some trepidation due to Senna, I, on the contrary, feel that my idol is always there encouraging me to go faster,” concluded the driver sponsored by McLaren, Banco BRB, Porto, Ebury, Snapdragon, and Barthelemy.

FIA Formula 2 2024 (-> Brasília Time <-)
4th Round – Imola – ITA
Friday (17th)
06:05 – 06:50 – Free Practice
11:00 – 11:30 – Qualifying
Saturday (18th)
09:15 – 10:00 – Sprint Race
Sunday (19th)
05:00 – 06:00 – Feature Race

All events broadcasted on Band Sports

Pictures: Disclosure

Press office of Gabriel Bortoleto
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick