Alongside the McLaren team, the Brazilian driver completed more than 50 laps at Red Bull Ring
Last Tuesday (03/09), at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg, Austria, the 19-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto had his first experience driving a Formula 1 car.

The young driver from São Paulo, who was signed by the McLaren F1 team at the end of 2023 for their Driver Development Program, has been undergoing a series of simulator training sessions and other commitments throughout 2024 at the McLaren Technology Center (MTC), the team’s headquarters in Woking, England.

As part of his work with McLaren, Gabriel was invited at the beginning of this week to go out on track and perform tests to develop solutions aimed at helping the team in their quest for titles in the current F1 season.

The test was conducted in one of McLaren’s cars from the 2022 season — the MCL36 model. Gabriel completed over 50 laps on the Austrian track, fulfilling a program that covered more than 200 km. The times from the test were not disclosed by the team.

Officially, Bortoleto’s test was considered a TPC — Testing of Previous Car in Formula 1. This program allows teams to test cars that are at least two years old. These tests are often used for various purposes, such as training young drivers, developing new components for current competition models, or evaluating potential drivers. By using TPC, teams can gain valuable data and experience without compromising their competitive edge in the current season.

“I obviously received McLaren’s invitation to do my first test in an F1 car with great joy. Ever since the first day I sat in a go kart, I dreamed of this, and naturally, it was thrilling. On the other hand, I saw it as something that could happen at any moment since they have been preparing me since the end of last year to perform exactly this kind of function for them. From the information I received from the team, they were very satisfied with the feedback I reported about the car, my behavior on the track, and the performance improvement we accumulated throughout the day. I’m happy to have been able to do a good job and help the team when they needed me,” commented the driver from São Paulo.

Next week, Gabriel heads to Azerbaijan. Alongside the Invicta Racing team, he will compete in the 12th round of the Formula 2 World Championship in Baku, a competition where he is currently the runner-up, just 10.5 points behind the leader.

Pictures: Disclosure
Press office of Gabriel Bortoleto
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick