According to Mattia Binotto, Sauber was scheduled to sign Gabriel Bortoleto for the Audi project in 2026 regardless of whether he competed for the team in 2025, but the team’s COO and CTO said the timing was partly due to the Formula 1 rookie’s strong performance this time around. He said it has been strengthened. Year.
bortoletto (pictured above)who currently leads the Formula 2 Championship standings, will join Nico Hulkenberg in the Stake next season, it was announced on Wednesday, with the Sauber-run team now Audi for the start of new regulations next year. Hulkenberg and the Brazilian rookie will replace the current combination of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and while Binotto’s recent strong form as Oliver Bearman hasn’t really surprised him, they have boosted confidence in the rookies’ ability to succeed straight away. He says. In F1.
“I know how good some of the young drivers are. I know Ollie. [Bearman] Very good because of my past experience. He was a member of our Driver Academy. [at Ferrari] said Binotto, who served as Ferrari F1 team principal from 2019 to 2022. “I knew Ollie could do very well in F1 and it was no surprise to me to see how well he was performing today.
“I think so. They are all getting along very well. It’s really good. It’s perfect for F1. But I believe them all. I know they can do well, and I don’t think I was waiting to see them do well and make a decision.
“I have been watching Gabriel’s career much more closely over the past few weeks and months. I saw him racing very well and was impressed not only by his speed and potential, but also his ability to develop first and improve. I think he’s one of the most talented and high-potential drivers we have as a rookie, and for Audi it was a no-brainer.
“So we would have chosen Gabriel. It would have been our choice anyway. The second question we were asking ourselves was should we do it straight away in ’25, or should we give it time to develop first and then postpone it to ’26?
“But finally, seeing young drivers doing well in F1 gave me confidence that Gabriel could do very well from the start and that, if anything, was a convincing factor. Audi’s not an overall choice for young and exciting drivers. [for that] Travel and projects are important and essential. But how quickly can that happen? And once again, I am confident he will do well from the start.”
Bortoleto will join Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson as rookies playing their first full season in F1 next year, while Franco Colapinto has also been linked with a place in the Red Bull set-up.
