Gabriel Bortoleto has opened up on his eagerness to get back to being a Formula 1 driver, ahead of an ever-important 2026 season.
Bortoleto, who signed a multi-year contract with Sauber in 2024, entered his rookie season with Kick Sauber.
However, with the team shifting to Audi and a sweeping new set of regulations, the Brazilian highlighted his need to return to racing as soon as possible.
Bortoleto even went as far as to joke that a winter break, despite being shortened with an extra test, was not needed for him.
“It’s only my second season in F1. If I could, I wouldn’t even have a winter break,” Bortoleto said.
“So for me, yeah, it was nice to spend a bit of time with family.”
Bortoleto emphasised that whilst at first relaxing, the break left him feeling ‘useless’, particularly with F1’s new rule changes, set to even the field.
“But I feel like after five days at home, I was already feeling a bit useless, that I was away from the factory and the team.
And I was like, ‘I want to go back. I want to start it again.'”
However, Gabriel Bortoleto still managed to keep himself busy and racing despite being away from the track. He admitted to frequently using his at-home simulator during the break.
“How many days? It’s difficult to say. Since last year, obviously, we had a shutdown break,” Bortoleto explained.
“But since I came back [on January 6], I think I did five days already, something like that. So obviously, a lot of events in between this.
“So far, I haven’t really stopped much at home. But every time I can and I have free time to go to the team and work, I’m there.”
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