Miami, Fla. – Formula 1 season 2025 has several rookies adapting to life at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Among them is Gabriel Boltreto. Last season's Formula 2 driver champion is driving towards Sauber in five races in his rookie campaign. He has not yet opened his account and came at the Chinese Grand Prix when his best finish ended in 14th place. But speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Voltoreto revealed what he needed to do with the track.
Find the perfect wrap.
“I won't change anything with my approach. I'm just trying to do my best and I'll maximize the rap,” Voltoreto told the media. SB Nationat Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday.
“To be honest, the last two races aren't on a clean knee. In Jeddah, the plastic bag in the middle of the track is also a bit unlucky. I avoided it because I thought it was a front wing or something.
“And in Bahrain, that was my mistake.
“I put out a snap from T1 and maybe I'll go to Q2 with that Quali,” continued Bortoleto. “But on that lap, we lost a lot because we were so close to going to Q2.
“Yeah, it's just about putting together the rap, I say, put the rap on it. The approach is the same.”
Boltreto also emphasized that the need for a perfect lap at Sauber is more important than the other teams. Some of the other drivers have bigger error bands, but in Sauber the windows are much tighter, which increases the need for perfect wraps.
“We're always targeting going to Q2,” Boltreto began. “It's something for us, and if we reach the second quarter, it's already positive.
“There's less chance than other teams. Sometimes they know the top team, they can just drive and go to the second quarter.”
Balancing the search for the perfect rap and avoiding mistakes is one of the issues Boltreto and Sauber have balanced this season.
“We need to do very good laps to try to extract everything, and sometimes when we try to do these very good laps, you're going to make a mistake, but that can be the driver to fail,” the rookie driver continued. “When you're trying so hard, you can make mistakes. It's when you need to realize that you're doing it and not overdrive it, and just calm down and put the rap together. And that's the last weekend and I think you need to put the rap down now and gain confidence on the track.”
As long as there are expectations for bolt-rates over the weekend, the rookie driver admitted he needs to be faster than usual. In addition to this being the F1 Sprint weekend, this is Voltoreto's first Miami Grand Prix. In other words, he only has one practice session to bring it all together.
“Well, that's a new track for me,” Voltoreto said when asked about his expectations this week. “[S]Print events, you should always be a little more aggressive on your way to the weekend. Because I don't have the time to learn new tracks just like I do on a regular weekend.
“You only have one [free practice session].
“So, yeah, I'm trying to be a little more aggressive, pushing the boundaries early in the weekend, and be able to perform with confidence and quickly, but obviously, this weekend, somehow you can get points and everything, but the big race is Sunday.
“It's also about building confidence and everything on Saturday.”
The process begins tomorrow with that single practice session.
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