Bortoleto will be the one to watch in Formula 1 next year: first Brazilian F1 driver since Massa

Formula 1's line-up will feature a big change in 2025. After "open and constructive discussions", Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will not continue with Kick Sauber Motorsport. Instead, the Swiss team bought by Audi will have Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto as its drivers next year.

Bortoleto will be the first Brazilian driver since Felipe Massa left in 2017 (although Pietro Fittipaldi came in as a replacement for Grosjean after his accident in 2020). Born in Sao Paulo in 2004, Bortoleto was F3 World Champion in 2023 and is leading F2 this year, and will make the jump to the biggest category next year.

In 2022, Bortoleto joined A14 Management, a drivers' management agency founded by Fernando Alonso, that picks young talent from karting and trains them to become F1 drivers.

Fernando Alonso has followed Bortoleto's career very closely

Alonso himself has supported Bortoleto in his career and have become close, despite them becoming rivals next year. "He's an incredible talent and a very humble person as well, which I think that's the biggest thing that we need to work on" said Alonso earlier this year, as recorded on Formula 1's official site, saying it was a matter of time before he joined F1.

Bortoleto said in a press conference this week that they used to joke because by the time Bortoleto was born, Alonso had been racing for three years.

Bortoleto joins the only team this F1 season that hasn't scored a point yet, but he is optimistic: new people are joining the team, which will become Audi's team in 2026.