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The Hineville team, which will be renamed Audi F1 in 2026, has chosen young Brazilian Gabriel Bortoletto, who leads the F2 championship, for the next Formula 1 season. Valtteri Bottas, thus, is left without a racing cockpit, and his return to Mercedes for the position of reserve driver is rumored.
Sauber F1, led by former Scuderia Ferrari principal Mattia Binotto, has finalized its driving duo for the new Formula 1 season as it today announced that veteran Nico Hulkenberg will be joined by debutant Gabriel Bortoletto.
The 20-year-old Brazilian won the Formula 3 championship last year, and currently leads the Formula 2 standings. Despite only having two wins in F2, his consistency of results in the top six keeps him at the top.
If he wins this year’s title he will repeat the feat of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who won back-to-back F3 and F2 titles in 2020 and ’21 respectively, before spending ’22 as Alpine’s third driver and then makes his F1 debut in 2023 with McLaren.
Like Piastri, Bortoletto is a McLaren Academy driver, but team principal Andrea Stella has made it clear that he would not stand in the way of the Brazilian securing a place at another team.
Following this development, F1 will have four first-time drivers next year: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Haas’ Oliver Berman (although he has already participated in three GPs) and Sauber’s Bortoletto.
“This is one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not the whole sport” said Bortoletto, about the program of Audi’s entry into F1. “Joining a team that combines Sauber and Audi’s rich history in motorsport is a real honour.
“More than just being a member, I aim to evolve together with this ambitious project and reach the pinnacle of motorsport. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me by the team and the possibility to work with an experienced driver like Nico.
“Both programs have a proven track record of nurturing young talent, and I am confident that together we will write our own success story.”concluded the Brazilian.
Mattia Binotto, for his part, said: “Gabriel has already shown in the junior classes that he has what it takes to be a winner. We are very pleased that he will be joining the Sauber and Audi team.
Together with Gabriel, we are on a path to success, and we will develop into a unified force to shape a new era for Audi in motorsport. Nico and Gabriel represent the ideal combination of experience and youth, placing us in a strong position for the future.”
Shortly before Bortoletto’s announcement, Sauber announced that it would not be renewing the contracts of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Chow, thanking them for their cooperation. On the sidelines of the Brazilian GP, Bottas admitted that there is a possibility of returning to Mercedes F1, for the position of the third driver.
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