The Brazilian driver from KTF Sports secured second place in the Hungaroring Sprint Race

The eighth round of the FIA F3 Championship kicked off on Saturday, the 23rd. Leading the standings, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto had na impressive performance and once again finished the race on the podium, celebrating a well-deserved second place.

The schedule in Hungary began the day before with a session of free practice and the qualifying session. This qualifying session determined the starting positions for both the Sprint race, which took place on the morning of the following day, and the Feature race, scheduled for Sunday. Despite some issues during the practice session when he mentioned that the car had oversteer, the driver remained upbeat in his pursuit of pole position. However, just moments before the start of the session, rain started to fall, dramatically altering track conditions from the beginning to the end of the session. With a good setup on the car and the grip problems resolved, Bortoleto spent a considerable time in the top 3. Yet, on his final attempt at a quick lap on a dry track, he was disrupted and managed to record his best time of 1m31s876, earning him the fourth position for the start of the Sprint Race and the ninth place for the Sunday race.

SECOND PLACE IN THE SPRINT RACE

The Sprint Race, held on Saturday, had perfect track conditions with dry pavement and clear skies. Starting from the second row, Bortoleto made a conservative yet flawless start, maintaining his position in fourth place and proceeded with the race.

Waiting for the right opportunities to attack, he carefully picked his moments and, after completing five laps, he overtook Christian Mansell, moving up to third place. By this time, the two leaders had already built a considerable gap from the rest of the pack. Gabriel, concerned about tire degradation, pushed for fast but precise laps. When 12 laps were completed, the Safety Car was deployed to remove a broken-down car from the track. Three laps later, without a significant gap to the front-runners, the race resumed, and Gabriel began to put pressure on the top two. Having conserved his tires during the early laps, the KTF Sports driver waited until the last lap to mount significant pressure on the second-place driver, and in the penultimate corner, he managed to overtake Nikita Bedrin, crossing the finish line in second place. Italian driver Gabriele Mini won the race. Bortoleto also secured the fastest lap of the race, earning him an additional point for the Championship.

With this result, Gabriel Bortoleto extended his lead in the Championship standings. Currently, he has 138 points, compared to the second-place driver, Josep Maria Marti, with 92 points, and the third-place driver, Mini, with 87 points.

“It was a challenging race, but I definitely had a lot of fun. We knew that tire degradation would be decisive for the final race result. Therefore, after moving up to third position, I started saving my tires as much as possible. Then, with the entry of the Safety Car – which closed the gap to the top two – I felt that I had more equipment than those in front and attacked. I pushed Bedrin to make a mistake, and in the penultimate corner, I managed to move up to second, securing the checkered flag. It was a good day, and I gained another 10 points for the Championship. Tomorrow is a new day, a new challenge. I am focused and confident in my work. The car is in great shape, and we have every chance to score some important points,” said the 18-year-old driver.

The race on Sunday will take place at 3:25 am, Brasília time, and will be broadcast live on the subscription channel Band Sports.

Pictures: James Gasperotti | KTF Sports

Press office of KTF Sports 

Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick