After four weeks without competitions, the F2 World Championship will race in Monza, Italy.

This weekend, from August 30 to September 1, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy will host the 11th round of the Formula 2 World Championship. Drivers and teams are heading to the traditional track in northern Italy, which officially opens the final phase of the competition.

Having lived in Italy for seven years, Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto is very excited about the “home” race weekend. After the first ten rounds of the Championship, he is currently in second place with 129 points, 36 points behind the leader, Frenchman Isaac Hadjar. It is worth mentioning that at this very track, exactly one year ago, Gabriel celebrated winning the Formula 3 World Championship in his debut year.

Very focused on his current season, the driver was in Brazil in recent weeks and enjoyed some vacation time with family and friends, naturally disconnecting a bit from the racing world. Despite this, throughout the European summer break, Bortoleto remained focused on his physical preparation and continued training on his home simulator.

Monza, the fastest track on the F2 calendar, offers competitors maximum driving pleasure and technical challenges. The 5.793 kilometers circuit features only 11 corners and is completed at an impressive average speed of nearly 230 km/h. The lap record belongs to Japanese driver Nobuharu Matsushita, set in 2017 with a time of 1m30.982s. The Sprint Race, scheduled for Saturday, will last 21 laps, while the Feature Race on Sunday will be completed in 30 laps.

“I’m very happy to be back on track. I had a rest period in Brazil, but you can’t completely disconnect from the racing world. I participated in some interviews, podcasts, and my last activity there was watching the Stock Car race in Belo Horizonte, which was super cool. Last week I resumed my simulator training routine, intensified my physical training, and I feel 100% prepared to pursue my goals in this final stretch of the Championship. With full support from McLaren and the dedication of my technical team at Invicta Racing, our focus is to achieve the best possible results in the remaining four rounds. Just as I did last year when I won the F3 Championship, I will compete with total focus on each of the rounds, and in Abu Dhabi, in December, we will effectively think about the Championship,” explained the driver sponsored by McLaren, Banco BRB, Porto, Snapdragon, and Barthelemy.

Check out the official weekend schedule below. All activities will be broadcasted live on the BandSports subscription channel.

FIA Formula 2 Championship (Brasília Time)
11th Round | Monza – ITA

Friday (30/08)
06:00 – 06:45 | Free Practice
11:00 – 11:30 | Qualifying

Saturday (31/08)
09:15 – 10:00 | Sprint Race

Sunday (01/09)
05:05 – 06:05 | Feature Race

Pictures: James Gasperotti | KTF Sports
Press Office of Gabriel Bortoleto
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick