Sauber was at a crossroads.
Do you follow one path? He is a seasoned driver with experience driving at the highest level of single-seater motorsport, with an impressive resume of F1 Grand Prix wins and contributions to championship teams.
on the one hand? Promise, possibility, and a vision for the future.
In the end, Sauber chose the latter path.
Sauber today announced that Gabriel Bolotret will move into the team's second seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg for the 2025 season. The “multi-year” deal will see Hulkenberg and Bortleto form the driver duo in 2026, when Sauber becomes Audi's works operator. That year would not only herald a new era in F1 with Audi joining the grid, but also new technical regulations that would overhaul the sport itself.
Why did Sauber choose the latter path? It could give the team the best of both worlds. Hulkenberg's Sauber team has experienced drivers who can provide important technical feedback for the team's development from 2025 to 2026, the first year of the new regulations introduced with Audi.
Signing Bottas for that second seat would give Sauber two veterans, with Bottas' pedigree given his time at Mercedes, and experience driving at the sport's highest level of competition. I could have done that.
But what Bottas may not be offering at this point in his career, Bortleto is offering a surprisingly bright future.
Despite only turning 20 last month, Bortleto is already a champion in his own right. He won the F3 Drivers' Championship a season ago, finishing 45 points ahead of second place Zac O'Sullivan and 54 points ahead of Franco Colapinto. He replaced Logan Sargent midway through the season.
He also leads the F2 championship by a narrow margin over Isaac Hajjar with two race weekends left. If Bortleto wins the F2 drivers' title this season, a year after winning the F3 championship, he will join George Russell and Charles Leclerc as the only drivers to win both titles consecutively in their first attempt. It will be.
That's pretty noble company.
Bortleto also had the advantage of having a little more freedom than Colapinto. Bortleto, a member of the McLaren Driver Development Program, has had a bit of a hiccup in running the Woking base. With Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris both on long-term contracts, Bortleto is unlikely to be offered a seat at McLaren anytime soon.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown spoke to the following media: SB NationMcLaren said it was open to helping Bortleto find a seat on the grid ahead of the American Grand Prix.
“Yeah, he's a great racing driver. Our priority at the moment is to help them win the F2 championship. That's what we're very focused on. There are no seats available.Obviously we are very happy with our two Grand Prix drivers and would never want a racing driver's career to go back to Grand Prix,'' Brown said in Austin last month. “So we'll see how things go, but we were focused on winning the championship and not holding him back if we can't offer him an opportunity in F1. “At the moment we're focused on winning the championship and not holding him back if we can't offer him an opportunity in F1. It seems unlikely.”
Colapinto is part of the Williams family, who have contracts with both Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon, but Williams will reportedly leave Colapinto to drive for another team on a loan deal. He reportedly had the option to recall him to the team. Williams if necessary. Williams has Colapinto on a long-term contract and his performances so far since replacing Logan Sargent are a sign that he may be fit for life on the F1 grid sooner rather than later.
This paved the way for Bortleto to sign with Sauber.
Hulkenberg will give Sauber an experienced driver who can mentor Bortleto and give full feedback to the technical team as they develop the 2025 Challenger, as well as Audi's arrival on the grid and new technical regulations. Helping teams plan for the 2026 Challenger as the sport changes shape. .
Bortleto gives Sauber another talent to build their racing team for many years to come.
Give your team the best of both worlds.
