Gabriel Bortoleto claimed he was “excited” ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix following a disappointing race last weekend in Austin.
A tricky few rounds
The Sauber driver has often struggled to match his teammate Nico Hulkenberg’s heroics this season and this was painfully clear in Austin.
The German finished comfortably in the points, sitting eighth overall while Bortoleto could manage just 18th.
“We just lacked a little bit of pace,” said Bortoleto in the Thursday press conference. “I feel like, for many reasons, the last two weekends have not been the best.”
“I would say in Singapore, the pace was there, it was just a matter of a bit of luck in Qualifying with what happened with the yellow flag. Austin, we just lacked a little bit of pace, and didn’t do enough laps in Qualifying,” admitted the Sauber driver.
Hope ahead of Mexico debut
But, ahead of his debut around the Mexico circuit, the 21 year-old is more optimistic about his chances of a good result despite his misfortunes of late.
“I’ve moved on already from that one (Austin) It’s the first time that I have struggled that much in a weekend,” claimed Bortoleto.
“I’m excited for Mexico. “I’m very positive. I think Mexico, it’s a new track for me, but it’s also a new opportunity to have a new weekend, try for a good result,” said Bortoleto in an interview with Formula 1.
Bortoleto currently sits 19th in the championship standings, 23 points adrift of his teammate who sits ninth, largely due to his third place finish in Silverstone.
Featured Image courtesy of Stake F1 Team