Fernando Alonso has theorised that Gabriel Bortoleto’s “exceptional” results this season for Sauber in Formula 1 have gone under the radar because he is not British.
The 20-year-old rookie made it back-to-back points finishes for the Hinwil-based squad after a stellar career-best sixth-place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Bortoleto, who has been gaining momentum, started the 70-lap race from seventh on the grid, jumping Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at the start and maintaining sixth.
Stroll’s Aston Martin team-mate, Fernando Alonso, who is also the Brazilian racing driver’s manager, hailed Bortoleto’s performances.
“He commits few errors, always putting pressure. He’s [Bortoleto] the best rookie of this generation,” he said via ESPN at the Hungaroring on Sunday.
That said, the Spaniard asserted that Bortoleto is not yet getting the recognition he deserves in the paddock and media, and attributed it to a suspected case of ‘British bias’.
“If he was English, or something, and finished sixth in a Sauber, he’d be in all the news tomorrow,” he continued. “What he does is exceptional.”
Bortoleto himself believes that while he has had a slow start to the season, he has started extracting the inherent pace from the Sauber C45.
“It’s my rookie season. It’s normal that you progress. I think, at least for me, I’ve been always like this,” he explained to media including Motorsport Week.
“If you check my junior series, I’ve been a guy that I always have these types of steps in my career, but just because I like to work, I like to study, I like to understand what I’ve been doing wrong and do a better job.”
Bortoleto relished latest battle with Alonso
Bortoleto had an eventful 70-lap Grand Prix last Sunday, as he tried to thwart Max Verstappen’s advances from eighth on the grid while also battling with Alonso in fifth.
“I gave my best, you know, I tried to keep him [Verstappen] behind, it’s not easy,” he admitted.
“He was flying at that moment, you know, putting a lot of pressure.
“Fernando was slowing down a lot and honestly it was very nice to fight against him.”
Going into the summer break, Sauber currently sits seventh in the Constructors’ standings – one point behind Aston Martin and 19 points behind fifth-placed Williams.
And with how the last three race weekends have panned out for the team, with two points finishes for the 20-year-old and a career-first podium for Nico Hulkenberg at the British Grand Prix, Bortoleto is confident that Sauber has unlocked its potential and can realistically fight for the lead in the midfield.
“It’s a boost, it’s a lot of confidence, it’s a lot of things for me, for the team and, honestly, I’m looking forward to what we can achieve still this year,” he added.
“I mean I couldn’t be more satisfied than that because I think that’s the real result we can achieve.
“I think we really maximised the car we had today or even did better because I overtook Lance at the first lap and we know the Astons had a very good pace this weekend.”
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