Gabriel Bortoleto, class 2004, is one of the rookies who will enter the Formula 1 grid during the incoming 75th Championship.
After winning the last Formula 2 World Championship, he signed Sauber a contract for this year, securing a spot in the Formula One World Championship. The Brazilian driver, however, is already making other people speak about him, such as Helmut Marko.
Helmut Marko's comment about the rookies
Helmut Marko, a former Austrian F1 racing driver, after retiring from motorsport, he founded the RSM Marko racing team, which later became the Red Bull Junior Team, and he also became an advisor to Red Bull Racing and its related teams in 2005, winning six World Constructors’ Championship titles between 2010 and 2023.
The Austrian advisor gave his opinion on the rookies, classifying Antonelli, Hadjar, and Bearman as “A” drivers and giving Doohan a “C” because I don’t think he’ll complete the full season”. Instead, he decided to classify Bortoleto as a “B”.
“I’d rate him a B driver,” said Marko. “He’s a very intelligent racer – he won the Formula 3 championship but with only one victory. He tends to stay out of trouble.
“In Formula 2, he had only two wins. He’s a driver who brings the car home and has a solid grasp of strategy and tyre management, but I don’t see that ultimate speed in him.”
Gabriel Bortoleto: I don't care
“I don’t care. I’ve seen that and I love challenges.
Replied Gabriel Bortoleto insetad.
“Hearing that from Helmut – he’s a guy who has put a lot of talent in Formula 1 and has put a lot of wrong talents in F1. So, you can see he got it right and wrong and hopefully, I will prove him wrong.
“But nothing I say now in the media will change his mind – just my results on track. I’m sure I’ll prove him wrong at some point and hopefully, he will admit this.
“For now, I’m just focusing on doing my job and improving and doing the best I can. I’m proud of what I did in the junior series and I won in F2 and F3 against the Red Bull drivers he has, so good for me.”
