BORTOLETO PREPARES TO SIT IN THE SAUBER SEAT IN THE 2025 SEASON
Gabriel Bortoleto seems to have won the race for Sauber’s second seat.Formula 2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto seems to be going to race for Sauber next year, according to sources, an agreement has been reached between the young Brazilian driver and Sauber.Although Bortoleto stood out as one of the priority candidates to race alongside Hulkenberg for 2025, Sauber wanted to wait a while to assess whether he would choose the junior driver or continue with an experienced name, Valtteri Bottas.
Now it seems that a decision has been made, and with Bortoleto and its representatives present at the Brazilian GP paddog this week, it seems that an agreement has been reached for the next season.It is stated that some final details need to be resolved before an official announcement is made, but everything is expected to be clear until the next grand prix in Las Vegas.
Bortoleto participated in McLaren’s young driver program at the end of 2023 after winning the F3 championship. It is stated that McLaren will not prevent the young pilot from passing to Sauber. McLaren had previously stated that he would allow Bortoleto to leave if a solid race agreement was provided, but he would want to maintain his ties if he remained as a reserve or test pilot.If Bortoleto’s agreement to join Sauber is approved, Bottas’ hopes of staying in the F1 grid next year will actually end. Sauber was the Finnish pilot’s only realistic option for staying in the cockpit full-time, so if he loses it, he will have to consider other options. One possibility is that Bottas will return to Mercedes as a backup pilot.
When asked about this possibility at the Mexican Grand Prix, Bottas said: “My priority is to remain a racing driver, that’s what I want, and we strive for this together with Mattia Binotto.”
“But of course, nothing has been signed yet. I need to look at all the alternatives, including going back to the Mercedes family. This is definitely an option and I can consider it.”
With Bortoleto joining F1, Brazil will have a full-time grand prix driver for the first time since Felipe Massa retired at the end of the 2017 season. In 2020, Pietro Fittipaldi took part in two races in Haas due to Romain Grosjean’s injury.
