With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on their team, McLaren arguably has the best driver lineup on the grid. Despite that, neither driver can rest easy and assume their seat is secure. That is because of the raging competition for one of the McLaren seats. The reason behind that is Gabriel Bortoleto, the man who is giving Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar a run for his money in the F2 championship this year.
Bortoleto is currently driving for Invicta Racing in F2 as a part of McLaren’s driver academy. Despite only being in his freshman year in the championship, the Brazilian is miles ahead of his much more experienced teammate Kush Maini [80 points].
Meanwhile, his gap to Hadjar remains just 10.5 points. With just three race weekends and six races remaining, a thrilling title battle is likely to follow.
Bortoleto, however, did not have the smoothest motor racing career so far. Barring the F3 triumph, he only managed second to fifth-place finishes in junior categories, including F4 and FRECA.
Things only began to take shape for the better once he stepped into F3 where he delivered consistently high-place finishes, even if he wasn’t competing for a win every time. That run has continued in F2 and attracted the attention of some F1 teams.
FIA @Formula2 Drivers’ and Teams’ standings after Round 11
Gabriel Bortoleto closed the gap to Isack Hadjar in the Drivers’ standings, while Invicta Racing took the lead of the Teams’ Championship.#FIA #F2 pic.twitter.com/rzrMtVCMoo
— FIA (@fia) September 2, 2024
As per YouTube content creator Tom McCluskey, Sauber/Audi has already shown interest in signing the 19-year-old. The team has secured Nico Hulkenberg for the 2025 season and beyond.
While winning F2 will further bolster Bortoleto’s chances of landing a seat, he may already have impressed the Audi top brass, which includes former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.
How Bortoleto’s rise is a threat to Piastri and Norris
If successful in winning the 2024 F2 championship, Bortoleto will enter a record book that only three drivers are part of. That is the list of drivers who have won back-to-back F3 and F2 championships.
The list currently includes Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. Coincidentally, all three drivers are currently competing in F1 and are among the best on the grid.
Another factor playing in Bortoleto’s favor for his case to bag an F1 seat is his connections. Those include two-time world champion and current Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso.
Bortoleto is managed by Alonso’s driver management company A14. If successful in landing him a seat with another team, A14 could make McLaren suffer the same fate the Woking-based outfit once inflicted on Alpine by signing Piastri.
This is why McLaren finds itself in a difficult situation in managing its drivers. One could even call them spoilt for choice, given the luxury of driver options they possess. However, losing any of the three drivers to another team would be far from ideal.
