Gabriel Bortoleto was crowned the 2024 FIA F2 Champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the season.
“It’s one of the best feelings of my life,” reflected Bortoleto, sat in the press conference with the Brazilian flag draped over his lap and Championship trophy beside him.
The Final Race
Going into the final round of the 2024 F2 season in Abu Dhabi, Bortoleto and his closest rival Isack Hadjar were separated by just half a point.
This was increased to 4.5 points after Saturday’s Sprint Race, going into Sunday’s Feature Race; the final race of the season.
Bortoleto started from second, and Hadjar from third, keeping the title fight intense until the very end.
Shockingly, it was heartbreak for Hadjar from the very first lap, with the driver stalling as the starting lights went out, the Championship fight seemingly over before it truly began.
“It took me two laps to my engineer to tell me that he [Hadjar] was not there anymore […] and then I was a bit surprised about it, obviously. The radio was cutting off a bit and I think I was so focused on just pulling the gap to P2 at the time because I was leading,
“I didn’t understand Isack was out until the two last laps when I asked my engineer, where is Isack? He was like, mate, Isack is one lap down. So, I went for the move on Victor [Martins], that was a bit more aggressive than usual because obviously I could afford it at that moment.”
Bortoleto finished his final F2 race in second position, behind Joshua Durksen.
“It was very fun race […] a bit of a shame that I couldn’t fight with him on track for this title,
“After the pit stop, I had my rear brakes that didn’t work, so they were switched off completely. I had two or three lockups and that completely flat spotted my front tyres and was very tough to deal with, but I managed to bring the rear brakes on again and we got back into a rhythm.”
Gabriel Bortoleto’s 2024 F2 Season
2024 marks Bortoleto’s rookie campaign into Formula 2, after winning the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
“It’s been a very long season; we have been through a lot of things. Since the beginning, we have struggled a lot. In Jeddah, Australia […] I had a very big crash, but the team never gave up, I never gave up as well. From that moment on, I think we deserved every single point we achieved in the Championship,” Bortoleto reminisced.
The start of Bortoleto’s season was far from perfect.
Although the Brazilian driver was able to score points in his debut Sprint and Feature races in Sakhir, he was unable to score points at the following two round in Jeddah and Melbourne.
However, from round four in Imola, Bortoleto persevered to score points at all 11 remaining rounds.
The Brazilian driver ended the season with two wins, two pole positions and eight podiums.
“We had luck, but we also created our own luck […] with our pace, with our work, all the extra hours we did in the sim […] we had late, late nights working in simulations, on new things, bringing the car in the right window for the new tracks that were coming up for me and the team as well,” said Bortoleto.
“My progression through this season has been the best progression I have 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 them as well that have helped me achieve this championship and I’m super proud of it. Super, super proud of it.”
The Illustrious Club
Bortoleto joins an illustrious club of drivers who have won the junior F3 or GP3 series and F2 in back-to-back seasons as a rookie.
With only Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri as his predecessors, Bortoleto expressed how he felt to now be amongst these names.
“They are all Formula 1 race winners.”
Between them, Leclerc, Russell and Piastri celebrate 13 F1 wins, something that Bortoleto will be hoping to replicate in his own career.
“For me, it’s a privilege to be all 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 the F1 teams, getting their seats in F1, growing up and winning races in F1,” said Bortoleto.
“That’s obviously one of my targets, to represent my country in F1 and to win races and hopefully championships one day. It’s amazing to be around these names and to be one of the few people that managed to do this achievement.”
The Team Game
Not only did Bortoleto manage to secure the first Drivers’ Championship for Invicta Racing, but he also managed to aid the team towards their first title double, with Invicta also securing the 2024 F2 Teams’ Championship.
“It’s super great that I managed to give them the first Driver’s Championship that they ever had. They already had some Team Championships before, but finally I was able to give them their first Driver’s one,” said Bortoleto.
“Obviously 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 in Silverstone, but it was a bet for them at that moment, to bet on a rookie driver to win the championship. I can say that I delivered what they asked me to, so I’m super proud of that.”
Like any partnership, struggles are always going to be present.
However, it is a season of perseverance, accountability and hard work which lead to success.
“I think we’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season,” admits Bortoleto.
“You get the downs when you’re working so much with the team. There were moments this season that were very tough, that were very demanding from both sides. We always aimed for only one target 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.”
For Brazil
Bortoleto was born in Osasco, Sao Paulo, Brazil, starting his karting career in native Brazil in 2012.
“I’m super proud being Brazilian because as a Brazilian is nothing is easy for us […] we come a long way from here and we go through a lot of things to achieve success, especially in this sport.”
Following this, Bortoleto made his car racing debut in the 2020 Italian F4 Championship, leaving his home country behind to pursue his passions.
“It’s very expensive in Brazil to be able to afford a driver to race in Formula 3 and Formula 2 and to go to Formula 1,” said Bortoleto.
“For me to be able to give them a little bit of happiness in this moment, it’s amazing because if I can be part of their Sunday morning, when they wake up and they watch the TV and they see a Brazilian driver representing them in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, all around Europe as well, it’s an amazing feeling for me and for them as well.”
Crucially, Bortoleto made sure to address his home country of Brazil in Portuguese in his speech after winning the Championship, highlighting how important his roots and heritage are to him and his success.
“That’s why I wanted to talk in Portuguese after my win, because I wanted to give them a message. Because there is a lot of Brazilians that, because it’s not easy for us in terms of education, they don’t speak in English. So, I wanted to communicate with them in Portuguese as well to give them the message I was feeling in the moment.”
For Senna
It comes as no surprise that Bortoleto is heavily inspired by Brazilian, three-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna
He competed in the sport from 1984-1994 before sadly losing his life at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.
“He’s my hero. As a Brazilian, you know, I was able to watch his races. Unfortunately, not live, because I was born many, many years after he died in 94. Growing up in Brazil, listening to the histories about him going through Sao Paulo, all over Brazil, when you see images of him, you see paintings, it’s only good things about him. You don’t see any bad things about Ayrton,” said Bortoleto.
In Imola this year, Bortoleto unveiled a special livery in commemoration of Senna, sporting the Brazilian colours as well as his logos.
“It was very special to launch this special livery. This year was very special because it was 30 years, obviously, from his death and his family was in Imola when I also launched the Senna helmet that I was using with the Brazilian colours and his logos,” said Bortoleto.
“It brought me a lot of luck in Imola, […] my second pole, P2 in the Feature Race. From that moment on, things got better and better. I decided to keep the helmet, not because I was superstitious, but mainly because I was proud of representing. I realized that I was happier to be representing my country with the colours of the helmet, plus representing Senna’s name.”
An Ode To McLaren
Alongside his F2 duties with Invicta Racing, Bortoleto also served as a McLaren Development Driver from October 2023.
The programme aims to develop individuals through the team’s talent pipeline with the overarching aim to help drivers progress towards Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E.
“I’m super grateful to be a McLaren development driver. We have done this season together, our first season completed, and we achieved our goals, actually more than what we were targeting for,” said Bortoleto.
“I see a lot of junior teams around, and I can say they are definitely the best one because they don’t put that pressure on you […], they make you improve as a driver. It doesn’t matter how difficult the moments are that you are going through; they understand the reasons why and they work on that to make you a better driver and fix problems.”
Bortoleto went on to graciously thank the team for helping him with his professional and personal development.
“I’ve been working a lot with Jose this year. Stephanie was leading the [DDP] project, Zak, Andrea, and a lot of people from McLaren […] we can go on saying many, many names, but these people are the main ones from the programme, and they have been helping me a lot.”
The Road To F1
However, Bortoleto has now left the McLaren Driver Development Programme as his contract with Sauber/Audi begins for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
“I have a contract with Audi and I’m very happy to be part of this new project in my life.”
Bortoleto joins the Sauber line-up alongside veteran Niko Hulkenberg, before Audi take over the team in 2026.
With 2024 proving as a highly competitive year in F2, showcasing 18 different winners, and with several other F2 drivers including Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli making the leap to F1, the Brazilian driver was keen to prove that he was worthy of that all-important F1 seat.
“It was a big boost to see a lot of them signing the contracts before I even had the opportunities, and when I was actually giving everything I had in F2, having very good weekends, there were still no opportunities for me,” admitted Bortoleto.
“I wanted to show that I was able to get the seat, and I think Mattia [Binotto] had put a lot of trust in myself to get this seat, and I’m proud that I delivered […] what he was also expecting from me. Hopefully we can fight again in F1.”
Featured Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
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