The 2024 FIA Formula 2 season came to a spectacular conclusion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Gabriel Bortoleto was crowned champion after a memorable Feature Race. Joshua Duerksen claimed his maiden Feature Race victory, but Bortoleto’s second-place finish secured his place in the history books.
Bortoleto battles to the title
The Feature Race started with immediate heartbreak for title contender Isack Hadjar, who failed to get off the line, dashing his championship hopes. Bortoleto, meanwhile, made a strong start and was locked in a competitive battle throughout the race. Despite brake issues after his pit stop, the Brazilian driver fought through adversity to finish second, securing the championship in style.
Speaking after the race, Bortoleto reflected on the intensity of the battle and his emotions after clinching the title. “It was an intense race today. Congratulations to Joshua for the win, his first Feature Race win, he deserves a lot,” he said.
“It wasn’t easy today. After the pit stop, I had my rear brakes that didn’t work, so they were switched off completely, so I had two or three lockups and that completely flatspotted my front tyres, and it was very tough to deal with that. But, I managed to bring the rear brakes in again, we got back into a rhythm and I managed to overtake Victor and then get closer to Joshua, but he had a very good pace as well.”
“He took care of his tyres very well, and I was not able to overtake him in the laps we had, but super proud of the race I did and everything. This is the best second place, probably of my life. Actually, I think in F3, I finished second as well, but it feels very good.”
“I’m super happy right now. I think I have a lot of adrenaline in this moment. I’m super tired mentally, and I don’t think my emotions are in place right now, but they’re gonna be soon, and I’m gonna celebrate a lot.”
A season of hard work pays off
Bortoleto reflected on the challenges he faced throughout the season, including early struggles in Jeddah and a major crash in Australia, before finding consistency that ultimately led to his triumph, saying, “It’s one of the best feelings of my life, I think. It’s been a very long season. We have been through a lot of things since the beginning where we struggled a lot in Jeddah and Australia, where I had a very big crash.”
“The team never gave up, I never gave up as well, and from that moment on, I think we deserved every single point we achieved in this Championship. We had luck, but we also created our own luck, with our pace, with our work, the extra hours we did in the sim, all the extra hours we had, the late nights working on the simulations for new things to bring the car in the right window for the new tracks that were coming up for me and for the team as well.”
“So, yeah, it has been a very long one. My progression through this season has been the best progression I had in my entire life as a driver. I’ve grown up so much personally and professionally as well. I’ve learned so much. I met a lot of new people in my life that I’m super grateful to have as well that helped me to achieve this Championship. And I’m super proud of it. Super, super proud of it.”
Joining elite company
With his championship win, Bortoleto joins an exclusive group of drivers who have won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles as rookies, including Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. When asked about joining the club of drivers who’ve achieved this feat, Bortoleto remarked, “They are Formula 1 race winners, so for me, it’s privileged to be around these names.”
“They are drivers that I’ve always been inspired by when you see them racing in junior series, and they were winning everything, dominating the Championships as rookies, surprising their F1 teams, getting their seats in F1, growing up, winning races in F1.”
“And that’s obviously one of my targets — to represent my country in F1 and to win races and hopefully Championships there one day. So, it’s amazing to be around these names and to be one of the few people that managed to achieve this.”
Delivering Invicta Racing’s first driver’s title
Invicta Racing’s decision to sign Bortoleto before he had even won the Formula 3 championship was a gamble that paid off spectacularly. He expressed his gratitude to the team and credited their hard work for his success.
“Well, I think we have been through a lot, we had a lot of ups and down this season which, when you have those downs when you are working so much with the team, sometimes you even get tired of seeing each other’s faces,” he explained.
“There were moments like this season that were very tough, that were very demanding from both sides, from my side as well, from their side, but we always aimed for only one target and that was winning this Championship, to do the best we could race by race, progressing every single weekend we had on track, and we did it in the best way.”
“It’s also super great that I managed to give them the first Drivers’ Championship they’ve ever had. They had already some Teams’ Championships before, but finally, I was able to give them their first Drivers’ one.”
“It was a big bet for them because when they signed me, I was not even an F3 Champion yet. I was still in my F3 season, leading at Silverstone, it was a bet for them in that moment – to bet that a rookie driver could win a Championship, and I can say that I delivered what they asked me to. So super proud of that.”
Lessons from Formula 2 and the road ahead
As he said farewell to Formula 2, Bortoleto shared the key lessons he has learned and looked ahead to his next challenge with Sauber. “Well, from this season I can say, never give up, keep pushing and be a leader, don’t let people around you get you down,” he said.
“You need them to be positive, they need to be pulling you up, not down, and I think that’s what I learned the most this year because in my difficult moments at the beginning of the season, I had everyone in my family, the team, my girlfriend, who is here as well, the sponsors, the Federation, everyone, everyone in Brazil, the fans supporting me, ‘don’t be down Gabriel, keep pushing. You can do it, you can win it.’ And I think that’s what I learned the most.”
“You need to be surrounded by good people that can help you to achieve your dreams, and hopefully, I can bring this to the team next year and to develop them because we know that that’s a team that’s going through a new project right now with Audi. So, we will need to develop a lot of things, and hopefully, I can be a great – I don’t think leader is the right word because I’m a rookie, but together with Nico, we hopefully can do a very good job and achieve many things with Audi in the future.”
