Brazil has produced some of the biggest legends in F1 history, including Emerson Fittipaldi and Ayrton Senna, with notable names like Rubens Barichello and Felipe Massa also coming out of the country. However, since Massa’s retirement in 2017, no driver from Brazil has had a seat in the sport.
While that is not entirely true, as Pietro Fittipaldi filled in for Romain Grosjean at Haas during the 2020 Sakhir GP, he never actually had the seat on a permanent basis.
This eight-year Brazilian dry spell, however, is set to come to an end in 2025 with Gabriel Bortoleto having already secured a spot on the grid with Sauber.
The McLaren academy driver won F3 last year and is currently leading the F2 standings with two rounds to go. This piqued the interest of several teams, with Sauber getting his signature finally and Barichello is delighted about that. Speaking from experience, Michael Schumacher’s long-time former teammate had some advice for the new-age driver from his nation.
BREAKING: Gabriel Bortoleto graduates to @F1 with Kick Sauber ✨
The #F2 championship leader and 2023 #F3 champion step ups for 2025!#RoadToF1: COMPLETE ✔️ pic.twitter.com/p7iGkkFkES
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 6, 2024
Barichello urged Bortoleto to “know himself” and warned him not to “get angry or, or feeling bad about the bad times.”
“The bad times exist for us to be better. It would have been boring. If we didn’t have that, you would have won all the races and you don’t know what’s the value of actually going through and winning a race from, from pole is nice, but winning a race from 18th is really nice,” he added.
The former Ferrari driver believes Bortoleto will face too much pressure, given that a Brazilian driver will be on the grid for the first time in a long while. However, Barrichello rates the 20-year-old highly, suggesting that he believes in him to shine.
Bortoleto has taken a risk by agreeing to the Audi deal
For 2025, Bortoleto had two options: take the Sauber seat or spend time on the sidelines in hopes of a better opportunity in 2026. The Sao Paulo-born driver chose to compete in F1, which seems like a conservative move. But isn’t that what most would do?
Sauber—who will be taken over by Audi in 2026—is arguably the worst team on the grid. With zero points from 21 race weekends, there are no signs that things will change much in 2025.
Because of this, Bortoleto could feel restricted, as his talent may not be reflected in the results. This is something Valtteri Bottas, who has been with Sauber since 2022 and is set to leave this year, admitted to. He feels he is driving at a prime level, but the car isn’t doing justice.
That way, Bortoleto could risk fizzling out of the paddock, but Audi, at the same time, is aiming to become an F1 force amidst the new regulations. So, it all depends on good fortune for Bortoleto.
