Gabriel Bortoleto Oliveira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡa.bɾiˈɛw boʁ.tuˈlɛ.tu o.liˈve(j).ɾɐ]; born 14 October 2004) is a Brazilian racing driver, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Invicta.

Gabriel Bortoleto
Bortoleto in 2024
Born
Gabriel Bortoleto Oliveira

(2004-10-14) 14 October 2004 (age 20)
NationalityBrazil Brazilian
FIA Formula 2 Championship career
Debut season2024
Current teamInvicta Racing
Car number10
Starts22 (22 entries)
Wins2
Podiums5
Poles2
Fastest laps2
Best finishTBA in 2024
Previous series
2023
2022
2022
20212022
2020
FIA Formula 3
Stock Car Pro Series
FR Asian
FR European
Italian F4
Championship titles
2023FIA Formula 3

Born and raised in São Paulo, Bortoleto began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning multiple national titles and graduating to junior formulae in 2020. A protégé of two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso, Bortoleto won his first title at the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Trident. Having also been a race winner in Italian F4 and the Formula Regional European Championship, Bortoleto progressed to Formula 2 in 2024. At the Monza feature race that year, Bortoleto received widespread acclaim for his win from last on the grid, becoming the first driver to do so in either Formula 2 or Formula One.

A member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme from 2023 to 2024, Bortoleto completed his first Formula One test at the Red Bull Ring in September 2024, driving the McLaren MCL36. He is set to join Sauber in Formula One for the 2025 season onwards, ahead of their acquisition by Audi in 2026.[1]

Early and personal life

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Gabriel Bortoleto Oliveira was born on 14 October 2004 in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil.[2]

Junior racing career

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Karting

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Bortoleto started karting in his native Brazil in 2012 in the Campeonato Sulbrasileiro de Kart. He remained in karts until 2019, with his most successful year being 2018, where he finished third in the European and World Championships in the OKJ-category respectively, and became vice-champion in both the WSK Super Master Series and the Andrea Margutti Trophy.[3]

Formula 4

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Bortoleto made his car racing debut in the 2020 Italian F4 Championship, partnering Sebastián Montoya, Gabriele Minì and Dino Beganovic at Prema Powerteam.[4] His first podium came at Mugello, where he scored second, third, and a victory, taking his first single-seater win in the fourth round of the season.[5] He scored two more podiums in Monza and finished the season fifth in the overall championship, ahead of Montoya but behind Beganovic and eventual champion Minì. Bortoleto also finished fourth in the rookies' standings.[citation needed]

Formula Regional European Championship

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Bortoleto racing in the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship at the Red Bull Ring.
 
Bortoleto racing in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship at the Red Bull Ring.

In March 2021 it was announced that Bortoleto would be making his debut in the Formula Regional European Championship with FA Racing.[6] He scored his first points in the first race of the season in Imola, where he finished ninth.[7]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

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Bortoleto driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2023 Spielberg Formula 3 round

At the end of September, Bortoleto participated in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 post-season test at Jerez with Trident, partnering Oliver Goethe and Leonardo Fornaroli.[8][9][10] Shortly afterwards, he was announced as a Trident driver for the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, becoming the first driver to be announced to a team for that season.[11]

In his first race at the Bahrain International Circuit, Bortoleto was penalised for causing a collision with Rafael Villagómez and was classified outside the points. This was followed by a victory in the following day's feature race when first-place finisher Gabriele Minì received a penalty. Having been elevated to an early championship lead, the Brazilian extended it at Albert Park by claiming pole position and a second consecutive feature race victory. He continued to score points in each race of the subsequent five rounds, even achieving a second place during the feature race at the Red Bull Ring and two runner-up finishes during the sprint races in Britain and Hungary.

Sitting on a comfortable lead at the top of the standings, Bortoleto would proceed to have his first non-scoring race of 2023 at Spa-Francorchamps, as a weak qualifying session was followed by contact caused by Dino Beganovic during Saturday's race, forcing the Brazilian to stop his car.[12] Despite narrowly missing out on points in Sunday's race, a weak round from all of his immediate title rivals left Bortoleto with a 38-point advantage heading into the final round of the season.[13] As Paul Aron and Pepe Martí missed out on pole position during Monza qualifying, Bortoleto was crowned FIA Formula 3 champion on Friday.[14]

FIA Formula 2 Championship

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Bortoleto driving the Dallara F2 2024 during the 2024 Spielberg Formula 2 round

Bortoleto graduates to Formula 2 for his 2024 campaign, joining Invicta Virtuosi Racing alongside Alpine Academy driver Kush Maini.[15]

Bortoleto began the season by qualifying 2nd for the season opener in Bahrain but was promoted to pole position after teammate Kush Maini was disqualified from qualifying for a technical infringement. In the sprint Bortoleto would finish 6th despite contact with Isack Hadjar into turn 1. Bortoleto would then finish 5th in the feature race marking a decent first round for the Brazilian. At the next round in Jeddah Bortoleto would qualify 15th. In the sprint Bortoleto would just miss out on points finishing in p10. The feature race however would go awfully as Bortoleto would retire on lap 1 with a driveshaft failure ending a miserable weekend for Bortoleto.

Bortoleto would qualify 9th for the round in Melbourne but he would retire from the sprint after Isack Hadjar wedged Pepe Martí into him sending him into the wall at the pit lane exit. The feature race wouldn't go better as Bortoleto would retire on lap 6 with a hydraulic failure ending another miserable weekend for Bortoleto. Bortoleto would bounce back by taking pole for the round in Imola. Bortoleto would finish the sprint 6th scoring his first points since Bahrain. Bortoleto would drop to 4th at the start of the feature race but move back into 2nd after the pitstop phase. He would chase Isack Hadjar down but the Frenchman held on for the win by half a second. This 2nd place finish marked Bortoleto's first podium finish in formula 2.

Bortoleto would then qualify 9th in Monaco and finished the sprint race in 2nd marking a 2nd podium in a row. He would then finish the feature in 8th. Bortoleto qualified 4th for the round in Barcelona and would finish the sprint race in 5th. In the feature race Bortoleto finished 7th but fell to 10th after a penalty for causing a collision with teammate Kush Maini ending what was a very average weekend for the Invicta driver.

Bortoleto would qualify third for the round in Austria and finished the sprint in 4th. Bortoleto took the lead of the feature race in Austria and pitted when Zane Maloney stopped on lap 7. Bortoleto would take the lead off Pepe Martí on lap 18 and never looked back to take his first win in formula 2 moving him up into third place in the championship with 85 points after 7 rounds.

Bortoleto qualified 6th at Silverstone. During the sprint he had a long battle for third place with teammate Kush Maini which ended with Bortoleto passing Maini on the line to take the final podium place. However the stewards deemed that Bortoleto had completed the pass off the track so he was given a 5 second time penalty dropping him back behind his teammate to fourth. In the feature race Bortoleto finished 6th after a quiet race taking some points home for his title bid.

Bortoleto qualified 4th for the round in Hungary but would finish the sprint 16th after his tyres ran out. He would bounce back by finishing 4th in the feature race. For the next round in Belgium Bortoleto qualified 2nd but he finished the shortened sprint in 10th. In the feature race Bortoleto dropped behind title rival Isack Hadjar at the start. Bortoleto tried to stop later than his rivals and use his tyre advantage to win the race but Isack Hajdar would hold on to the win meaning Bortoleto finished 2nd. Despite this he moved up to 2nd in the standings due to Paul Aron's retirement on the last lap but Bortoleto now sat 36 points behind championship leader Hadjar going into the summer break.

Bortoleto's qualifying for the next round in Monza was a disaster as he qualified last for both races. Bortoleto would put a brilliant charge to go from last to 8th in the sprint but he would share the point with Dennis Hauger as both crossed the line side by side. The feature race however would be even better as Bortoleto would go from last to first after benefitting from a safety car caused by Dennis Hauger spinning at turn 1. The win coupled with Hadjar failing to score points during the weekend allowed Bortoleto to slash the Frenchman's lead down to 10.5 points with 3 rounds to go, igniting his championship challenge for the first time in 2024. He become the first driver to win from last on the grid in either Formula 2 or Formula One.[16]

In the Baku stage, Bortoleto finished the sprint race in 5th place and the main race in 4th, taking the lead in the drivers' championship. Bortoleto took advantage of the disastrous classification of Isack Hadjar, who did not score in Baku. The Brazilian driver left Baku with a 4.5 point advantage over Hadjar and 34.5 over Maloney in third.

Formula One

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In September 2022, Bortoleto announced that he had joined A14, two time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso's driver management company.[17] After winning the Formula 3 title, Bortoleto signed with the McLaren Driver Development Programme in October 2023.[18] He completed his first test in Formula One machinery at the Red Bull Ring in September 2024, testing the McLaren MCL36.[19]

Around the time that he completed his first test, Sauber Motorsport COO and CTO Mattia Binotto marked Bortoleto as one of the contenders for a seat at Kick Sauber in 2025, ahead of their takeover by Audi.[20] Three-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and race winner Oscar Piastri endorsed Bortoleto to be selected, with Piastri sharing his experience of not getting a seat immediately after winning the 2021 Formula 2 Championship and his hope that Bortoleto would avoid such a situation.[21] Furthermore, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed he would allow Bortoleto to leave their academy for Sauber if needed, praising him for his performances in his junior career.[22]

Sauber (2025-)

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During the weekend of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, rumors emerged that Bortoleto had signed a contract with Sauber for the 2025 season.[23] Sauber confirmed this on 6 November 2024, announcing that Bortoleto would partner Nico Hülkenberg on a multi-year deal from 2025 onwards; the two will replace outgoing duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.[1]

Karting record

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Karting career summary

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Season Series Team Position
2012 Campeonato Sulbrasileiro de Kart — PMK/Mirim 9th
Campeonato Paulista de Kart — Mirim 2nd
Open do Brasileiro de Kart — Mirim 1st
Campeonato Brasileiro de Kart — Mirim 2nd
2014 Super Kart Brasil — Cadete 2nd
Open do Brasileiro de Kart — Cadete 1st
Campeonato Brasileiro de Kart — Cadete 3rd
2016 Trofeo delle Industrie — 60 Mini 6th
ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK Gamoto Asd 7th
WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini 29th
2017 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ CRG SpA 7th
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 29th
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — OKJ 19th
Trofeo delle Industrie — OKJ 11th
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 14th
German Karting Championship — OKJ 31st
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 8th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 7th
SKUSA SuperNationals — X30 Junior 9th
WSK Final Cup — OKJ 33rd
2018 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ CRG SpA 19th
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 33rd
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — OKJ 2nd
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 2nd
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 3rd
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 3rd
WSK Final Cup — OK 11th
2019 South Garda Winter Cup — OK CRG SpA 9th
WSK Super Master Series — OK 7th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OK 13th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OK 33rd
FIA Karting International Super Cup — KZ2 53rd
Sources:[24]

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
2017 CRG SpA OKJ SAR
QH
1
SAR
R

2
CAY
QH
13
CAY
R
31
LEM
QH
24
LEM
R
13
ALA
QH
12
ALA
R
10
KRI
QH
17
KRI
R
20
8th 39
2018 CRG SpA OKJ SAR
QH
(6)
SAR
R
(14)
PFI
QH
2
PFI
R
6
AMP
QH
1
AMP
R
3
ESS
QH
4
ESS
R
3
3rd 68
2019 CRG SpA OK ANG
QH
9
ANG
R
6
GEN
QH
24
GEN
R
12
KRI
QH
19
KRI
R
10
LEM
QH
23
LEM
R
33
13th 22

Racing record

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Racing career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2020 Italian F4 Championship Prema Powerteam 20 1 4 1 5 157 5th
2021 Formula Regional European Championship FA Racing by MP 20 0 0 0 1 44 15th
Stock Car Light Brasil KTF Racing 4 1 1 0 1 60 13th
2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship 3Y by R-ace GP 6 1 0 0 1 46 14th
Formula Regional European Championship R-ace GP 20 2 2 1 5 176 6th
Stock Car Brasil KTF Sports 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship Trident 18 2 1 3 6 164 1st
2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship Invicta Racing 24 2 2 2 5 169.5* 1st*

As Bortoleto was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2020 Prema Powerteam MIS
1

7
MIS
2

7
MIS
3

11
IMO1
1

8
IMO1
2

7
IMO1
3

Ret
RBR
1

7
RBR
2

7
RBR
3

13
MUG
1

2
MUG
2

1
MUG
3

3
MNZ
1

18†
MNZ
2

3
MNZ
3

2
IMO2
1

Ret
IMO2
2

8
IMO2
3

8
VLL
1

4
VLL
2

C
VLL
3

4
5th 157

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2021 FA Racing by MP IMO
1

9
IMO
2

11
CAT
1

23
CAT
2

22
MCO
1

23
MCO
2

21
LEC
1

18
LEC
2

28
ZAN
1

17
ZAN
2

18
SPA
1

28
SPA
2

12
RBR
1

7
RBR
2

2
VAL
1

11
VAL
2

9
MUG
1

6
MUG
2

8
MNZ
1

8
MNZ
2

28
15th 44
2022 R-ace GP MNZ
1

6
MNZ
2

9
IMO
1

7
IMO
2

3
MCO
1

6
MCO
2

5
LEC
1

4
LEC
2

5
ZAN
1

Ret
ZAN
2

8
HUN
1

9
HUN
2

3
SPA
1

14
SPA
2

1
RBR
1

15
RBR
2

5
CAT
1

7
CAT
2

1
MUG
1

Ret
MUG
2

2
6th 176

Stock Car Brasil results

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Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Rank Points
2022 KTF Sports Chevrolet Cruze INT
1

22
GOI
1
GOI
2
VCA
1
VCA
2
RIO
1
RIO
2
BRA
1
BRA
2
BRA
1
BRA
2
INT
1
INT
2
SCZ
1
SCZ
2
VCA
1
VCA
2
GOI
1
GOI
2
GOI
1
GOI
2
BRA
1
BRA
2
NC† 0†

As Bortoletto was a guest driver he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Formula Regional Asian Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2022 3Y by R-ace GP ABU
1

10
ABU
2

1
ABU
3

6
DUB
1

6
DUB
2

Ret
DUB
3

8
DUB
1
DUB
2
DUB
3
DUB
1
DUB
2
DUB
3
ABU
1
ABU
2
ABU
3
14th 46

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2023 Trident BHR
SPR

19
BHR
FEA

1
MEL
SPR

6
MEL
FEA

1
MON
SPR

6
MON
FEA

5
CAT
SPR

4
CAT
FEA

4
RBR
SPR

10
RBR
FEA

2
SIL
SPR

2
SIL
FEA

6
HUN
SPR

2
HUN
FEA

7
SPA
SPR

Ret
SPA
FEA

11
MNZ
SPR

2
MNZ
FEA

5
1st 164

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points
2024 Invicta Racing BHR
SPR

6
BHR
FEA

5
JED
SPR

10
JED
FEA

Ret
MEL
SPR

Ret
MEL
FEA

Ret
IMO
SPR

6
IMO
FEA

2
MON
SPR

2
MON
FEA

8
CAT
SPR

5
CAT
FEA

10
RBR
SPR

4
RBR
FEA

1
SIL
SPR

4
SIL
FEA

6
HUN
SPR

16
HUN
FEA

4
SPA
SPR

10
SPA
FEA

2
MNZ
SPR

8
MNZ
FEA

1
BAK
SPR

5
BAK
FEA

4
LSL
SPR

LSL
FEA

YMC
SPR

YMC
FEA

1st* 169.5*

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kick Sauber confirm rookie Bortoleto as second driver for 2025". 6 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Entrevista com o piloto de automobilismo Gabriel Bortoleto - The Noite (04/11/24)". Youtube. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  3. ^ "The top karting stars of 2018". formulascout.com. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Gabriel Bortoleto closes with PREMA and will compete in F4 in Europe – Other Categories". 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Prema's Gabriel Bortoleto claims first Italian F4 win at Mugello". formulascout.com. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ Allen, Peter (15 April 2021). "Gabriel Bortoleto makes FA Racing switch before FREC opener". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Imola, Race 1 report: Vidales, Quinn and David". formularegionaleubyalpine.com. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Formula 3 returns to action with post-season testing in Jerez". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Jerez post-season testing Day 2 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Jerez post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  11. ^ Wood, Ida (26 September 2022). "Alonso protege Gabriel Bortoleto graduates to FIA F3 with Trident". formulascout.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Beganovic handed penalty for Bortoleto Spa F3 sprint clash". www.autosport.com. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  13. ^ "FEATURE RACE: Barnard takes maiden F3 win with Bortoleto two points short of title". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ^ "QUALIFYING: Goethe claims maiden pole as Bortoleto seals Championship title". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Invicta Virtuosi Racing announce Gabriel Bortoleto and Kush Maini for 2024 season". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  16. ^ "How the "stars aligned" for Bortoleto's stunning last-to-first F2 victory". Autosport. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  17. ^ Wood, Ida (15 September 2022). "FRegional racer Gabriel Bortoleto joins Alonso's management company". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  18. ^ "McLaren Racing sign FIA Formula 3 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto to the Driver Development programme". mclaren.com. McLaren. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Gabriel Bortoleto conducts first F1 test with McLaren at Red Bull Ring". formulascout.com. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Binotto reveals two surprise options for vacant Audi F1 seat". 1 September 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  21. ^ "'I'd have signed him already' – Verstappen reveals who he'd choose for Sauber seat in 2025". 1 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  22. ^ "'We won't stop him' – McLaren boss Stella comments on junior driver Bortoleto's links to Kick Sauber for 2025". 2 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Bortoleto all set to land Sauber F1 seat for 2025". 3 November 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Gabriel Bortoleto | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by FIA Formula 3 Championship
Champion

2023
Succeeded by