McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella has said the team’s new Driver Development Programme signing, 2022 F3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto is an “exciting talent”.
The McLaren Development Driver initiative was officially launched in April 2023. Overseen by five-time Le Man winner and former F1 driver Emanuele Pirro, Bortoleto is the most recent signing to the programme which includes several other upcoming talents.
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Along with the Brazillian, the MDD roster includes multiple IndyCar race winner, Pato O’Ward, recent reserve signing and Toyota protégé Ryo Hirakawa, and Italian F4 runner-up Ugo Ugochukwu.
Bortotelo, who won the F3 title in his rookie season with Trident, was noted by Stella as a driver the team had been watching for a while and now felt deserved a place in the program.
In an interview with Autosport, Stella said:
“We are building this Driver Development programme, which is actually quite new. We started just a few months ago. So we are populating the programme with the most exciting talents, and definitely, we thought that Bortoleto was one of those.”
The development programme looks to take young talent and, using the experience of Pirro, help guide the drivers and develop them to McLaren’s needs.
Pirro, who left his job as a FIA F1 steward for the role, was contracted to McLaren in 1988 as a test driver to develop the new Honda powertrain for the MP 4/4 and stayed within that role for three years.
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His first F1 race however was at the 1989 French Grand Prix for Benetton-Ford team when he replaced Johnny Herbert who was recovering from injuries following an incident in F3000. The Italian then moved on to race for BMS Scuderia Italia for the 1990 and 1991 seasons.
Knowing the development/test driving position well at McLaren, Pirro hopes he can bring the best of out the chosen drivers.
To Autorsport, Pirro said: “I’ve known [Pirro] him well since the beginning of his motorsport career and he’s got all that is needed on and off track to be a star.”
While Bortotelo is the newest signing, Stella stressed that it’s unlikely the programme will grow much more than its current state.
Along with signing Bortoleto, McLaren has taken up a one-year option contract on Brandon Badoer who finished sixth in the 2023 Italian F4 series. Badoer is the son of former Minardi and Ferrari driver Luca Badoer.
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