It is scary to think just how fast dreams can turn into nightmares. In what should have been Gabriel Bortoleto’s homecoming to Brazil and racing in front of his home crowd, it turned into a bit of a nightmare…
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was inches away from turning into one of the biggest Formula 1 disasters in the sports history. With two massive crashes in less than 24 hours, Stake Sauber’s rookie, Gabriel Bortoleto, was left with a broken heart, but fortunately with his overall health intact. The homecoming was not what the rookie driver was expecting, but lessons will be learned from a painful experience in Sao Paulo.
Gabriel Bortoleto is a rookie in the Formula 1 paddock. So far, he failed to leave a big impression while facing heavy competition from the top drivers and constructors in the world with his Stake Sauber F1 team.
Yet, a return to his home, Brazil, and Sao Paulo Grand Prix should have been a fairy tale. A place where the rookie would finally make a name for himself cheered on by the home crowd.
The crowd was also more than eager to cheer for what’s to be a new national hero if things manage to play out the right way, as there were no Brazilian drivers in Formula 1 for almost a decade before Gabriel Bortoleto took the stage.
With thousands of fans cheering from the Interlagos stands, the 20-year-old Gabriel, had an extra motive to give it his all. A strong performance in front of a home crowd is what helped many young drivers establish themselves down the road.
Yet not all stories end up a fairytale. What’s even worse, the story of Bortoleto in Brazil took an unexpected U-turn into a nightmare so fast, that no one saw it coming till it played out. The fact that Gabriel Bortoleto has left the track unscathed after two dubious crashes in less than 24 hours is nothing short of a miracle.
He crashed his car during both the Sprint session and the race again just after the main race started. For the young driver, at one point the sky was the limit, in the next one he had fans trembling in fear for him. From a monetary standpoint, he caused his team around $1 million in repairs and damages in the two accidents.
Gabriel Bortoleto was brave and eager to prove himself. But despite all of his weekend’s ambition ending up in misfortune, it did open a way for the 20-year-old rookie to learn a few things about himself, the world, and his work as an Formula 1 driver.
Instead of making his way toward the podium, Bortoleto’s performance in Sao Paolo found him in the centre of different stories. While Stake F1 odds didn’t have Bortoleto too high before the race at the Sao Paolo Grand Prix, it believed that with some luck, and the adrenaline of wanting to prove himself in front of the home crowd he could make a miracle.
Sprint Race chaos
It was clear after the Sprint Race that the young Brazilian was pushing himself too hard. At Interlagos, not a single thing went right. The track was wet, more slippery than anticipated, and during the final lap Gabby was fighting Alex Albon for position.
While braking hard for Turn 1, the Sauber driver lost control over his car, and after a heavy contact we’ve all witnessed a fierce 57G impact. In a matter of seconds debris was all over the start finish straight.
From the moment the crash happened, everyone rushed trackside to see if Bortoleto was okay and miraculously, he was fine, and ready to go for the Grand Prix the next day. But in the aftermath of the crash, the Stake Sauber F1 Team was left in a pinch, having to rebuild the wrecked car from scratch in less than 24 hours.
Even though the Sauber team is not one of the teams at the top of the Constructors’ title race, they’ve shown just what kind of professionals and mechanics F1 teams have in their ranks.
After a sleepless night their team worked for hours to rebuild the chassis and ensure that the power unit work was not damaged. While many doubted the outcome, the Stake Sauber F1 car was prepared and ready to race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix come Sunday afternoon.
As far as Bortoleto goes, he admitted in the aftermath of the Sprint Race incident that he pushed too hard, but that it was all part of the learning curve he needs to get through during his early years in the Formula 1 paddock.
Comparisons were quickly drawn to one of the sports greats, Max Verstappen, who also had a rough start to his career. If Gabby manages to achieve even 10% of what Max has during his career, these learning lessons will be quickly forgotten.
Hard work and best efforts do not always get compensated. Bortoleto lined up at 18th on the grid but was more than motivated to make the best from this back row start. He fully accepted fault for what had happened during the Sprint Face and was focused on making amends on race day in the grand prix.
Yet, it was not meant to be…
It took only a few seconds for things to go astray once again for Bortoleto and Sauber as disaster struck at Turn 4, while he was alongside the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. After what appeared to be a light contact, the Sauber was sent flying into the barriers. For Gabby, the race was over even before the first lap was completed.
Once everything was said and done at the 2025 Sao Paolo Formuka 1 Grand Prix, the fans were happy that Gabriel Bortoleto was unhurt after two horrific crashes, but at least they got to see him competing in the race in the first time.
Gabriel is aware that he is not the first young driver to have a setback this season. Similar situations have happened to Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli, and Gabriel will be looking to follow up Sao Paulo events in their footsteps.
The entire Formula 1 world is hoping that Bortoleto is going to be able to bounce back immediately, especially considering all the potential he has shown to possess this year.
