Fernando Alonso has backed his protégé Gabriel Bortoleto to successfully make the jump from Formula 2 to Formula 1.
Bortoleto is on the driving roster of Alonso’s A14 Management and the 19-year-old is impressing on his way through the single-seater pyramid.
The Brazilian won the FIA Formula 3 World Championship in his rookie season last year and leads the F2 Drivers’ standings by 34.5 points with two rounds to go in 2024.
That prowess has seen Bortoleto linked with a seat at Sauber in 2025 and Alonso heaped heavy praise upon the Brazilian.
“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,” Alonso told the media during the Thursday press conference at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“He’s a hard worker, apart from his talent, and I think that’s why in Formula 3 and Formula 2 had this much progress.
“I think also he’s someone that is taking things very seriously as well, which at that age is never a guarantee.
“As we touched before on the budgets and things like that, he won the championship as a rookie in Formula 3, and he’s fighting for the championship as a rookie in Formula 2, but without the test of many other rookies.
“So he’s probably the only ‘rookie, rookie’ on the championship.
“So this was an amazing achievement so far. And let’s see what the future brings. But, you know, it’s a matter of time that he gets to F1.”
Several drivers competing for vacant Sauber F1 seat
Bortoleto is just one of many drivers linked with the vacant seat at Sauber in 2025.
A McLaren Development Driver, the F2 title-favourite has been granted permission to speak with Sauber and could be loaned to the Hinwil-based squad.
The same could be said of Franco Colapinto, Williams’ prospect who has flourished since he took Logan Sargeant’s F1 seat.
James Vowles has admitted he’d be happy to secure the Argentine a drive elsewhere to continue his F1 journey, with Sauber the likely suitor.
Both of these promising young drivers will have to contend with the possibility that Sauber will retain Valtteri Bottas.
Bottas signed a multi-year deal with Sauber which commenced in 2022, but that deal is coming to an end, with the Finn keen to extend his stay in F1.
With the clock ticking, Sauber will need to make a decision soon to finalise its driver lineup, with Nico Hulkenberg awaiting his future team-mate.
Should Bortoleto miss out on the Sauber drive, his options in F1 could prove limited, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reaping the rewards of long-term contracts.
READ MORE: McLaren willing to reach ‘solution’ with Sauber/Audi F1 for Gabriel Bortoleto
