This Sunday (15th) marked the end of the 12th stage of the F2 World Championship. Competing for the Invicta Racing team with support from McLaren F1, Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto secured fifth and fourth places in the two races in Baku, Azerbaijan. As a result, the young São Paulo native took the lead in the standings with a total of 169.5 points, with only two rounds remaining in the calendar.

Gabriel’s weekend began on Friday with free practice and qualifying sessions. Bortoleto, driving a car that did not show the impressive performance seen at the Monza stage, managed the sixth-best time in the qualifying session. This result secured him fifth place for the start of the Sprint Race and, naturally, sixth place for the start of the Feature Race.

On a highly challenging street circuit, Gabriel adopted a conservative approach at the start of the Sprint Race. Avoiding any potential contact, he fell to eighth position but remained in the lead pack. As the laps went by, the Brazilian maintained a good pace and managed tire wear to the maximum, though he was constantly under pressure. Five laps from the end, an incident prompted the entry of the safety car, which stayed on the track for two laps. At the restart, Gabriel positioned himself well, recovered three positions, and, despite being hit by the rookie Christian Mansell, managed to cross the finish line in fifth place. This result added four points to his championship tally, leaving him just 6.5 points behind the leader, Frenchman Isac Hadjar.

The Feature Race, held on Sunday, began with a serious accident at the start. Kush Maini’s car stalled on the grid and was struck head-on by the cars of Oliver Goethe and Josep Maria Marti, with the latter even flipping over in the middle of the track. The race was halted with a red flag, and it took nearly 30 minutes to restart. Due to the delay, the race organization decided that the race would conclude based on time, with 28 minutes remaining at the restart. Gabriel made a good start, jumping to fifth place. He held this position until the pit stops. In a well-executed stop, the Invicta team brought him back on track in the same position. At this point, 17 minutes remained in the race, and Bortoleto began to set a faster pace. He overtook Zane Maloney to take fourth place and began chasing the third-placed driver. With 12 minutes left in the race, he was three seconds behind Kimi Antonelli. With a series of very fast laps, Gabriel recorded consecutive fastest laps, and with four minutes remaining, he was less than a second behind his competitor, allowing him to activate DRS. Unfortunately, however, an accident brought out the safety car, which remained on the track until the checkered flag. Richard Verschoor (NED) won the race, followed by Victor Martins (FRA) and Kimi Antonelli (ITA). Bortoleto confirmed fourth place, which, given the number of laps in the race, was worth 10 points. The Brazilian also scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

With this result, Gabriel Bortoleto leads the F2 World Championship with 169.5 points, with only two rounds left. Isac Hadjar (FRA) is in second with 165 points, and Zane Maloney (BAR) is third with 135 points.

“Naturally, I am very happy to take the championship lead. We haven’t won anything yet, but taking the top spot is another important step in the work that I, the team, and McLaren have been building race by race. We now have two and a half months until the Qatar stage, and the following week, Abu Dhabi. I will remain fully focused on my physical preparation, simulator training, and analysis of all the data provided by the team. The on-track results here in Baku have demonstrated, above all, our commitment to pursuing this title, and you can be sure that I will race the last two stages of the year to truly raise the Brazilian flag on the podium once again,” commented the driver sponsored by McLaren, Banco BRB, Porto, Snapdragon, and Barthelemy.

The F2 World Championship resumes at the end of November. From November 29th to December 1st, the Lusail circuit in Qatar will host the penultimate stage of the season.

Pictures: James Gasperotti | KTF Sports

Press Office of Gabriel Bortoleto
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick