Fernando Alonso praises Brazilian talent and Formula 2 driver Gabriel Bortoleto and calls him a “pure rookie” with “incredible” talent. The Spaniard believes that the youngster needs to enter Formula 1 at the right time and with the right team.
Speaking ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Alonso was asked what kind of advice he can give to Bortoleto, who needs to deal with a lot of pressure caused by Brazilian media because of the possibility of racing in Formula 1.
“Not easy to advise, you know, because everyone is a little bit different, but yeah, he’s an incredible talent. As I said, in Baku, he’s the only rookie, rookie we have in F3 and F2 that is leading the championship.
“All the others, they do 10-12 days of F1 testing, 20 days of F2 testing, and these kind of things. Gabriel is just a pure rookie, so his talent is incredible.
“At the same time, you know, Brazil has a lot of history in Formula 1, a lot of background in great drivers, and maybe some pressure as well, but you know, we need to give Gabriel his time as well.
“His time in Formula 1 will arrive. We don’t need to take any shortcut that can compromise the development of his talent, you know. So he needs to get to F1 in the right time and when he’s totally prepared, and in the right team and the right environment.”
“So that’s the biggest challenge, to combine the pressure and the motivation to get to F1 to the common sense when it’s the best time.”
Bortoleto is also in contention for the vacant Sauber seat for 2025. The 19-year-old has been linked with the Swiss team since Mattia Binotto took over from Andreas Seidl in a major management shakeup ahead of Audi’s arrival in 2026.
When asked if all mentioned aspects would mean that Bortoleto is no longer in the running for the seat next to Nico Hülkenberg, Alonso said: “No, no, no. I think the team has to make some decisions and for sure, Gabriel is very appealing for everybody at the moment.“
He adds on the question if it’s a problem that Bortoleto is tied to McLaren: “There are never problems in Formula 1. Everything can be adjusted.”
Currently, Bortoleto leads the way in Formula 2 by 4.5 points to second placed Isack Hadjar who had two difficult race weekends in Monza and Baku, scoring no points at all. Bortoleto won the Formula 3 championship in 2023 as a rookie and can repeat it this year.
His team Invicta Racing is first in the teams’ championship, with a comfortable gap of 35.5 points to Campos Racing.
Formula 2 returns at the end of November for the Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit.
