Audi contender Bortoleto gets first F1 test

Gabriel Bortoleto, a named contender to complete Audi-owned Sauber’s 2025 driver lineup, got his Formula 1 career up and running last week.

"No decision has been made yet," boss Mattia Binotto said at Monza, "but it won’t take too long."

The Italian admitted that Audi is undecided about signing a young driver like Bortoleto or Theo Pourchaire, or whether to stick with experience, such as incumbent Valtteri Bottas.

"We are working on a long-term project," said Binotto, "but now we have to decide what is the best choice in the short term."

If Audi does target Bortoleto, a 19-year-old Brazilian and frontrunner in Formula 2 this year, McLaren would have to agree to release him.

That’s because he was signed by McLaren’s young driver program at the end of last year. And now, it’s notable that he got his first taste of a F1 cockpit at speed with a test in a two-year-old McLaren at the Red Bull Ring last week.

"I saw it as something that could happen at any moment since they have been preparing me since the end of last year to perform exactly this kind of function for them," Bortoleto commented.

"From the information I received from the team, they were very satisfied with the feedback I reported about the car, my behaviour on the track, and the performance improvement we accumulated throughout the day."

According to Auto Motor und Sport, Bortoleto’s career is being handled by Fernando Alonso’s management group, "who do not deny contact with Audi".

Indeed, Binotto openly mentioned Bortoleto’s name when meeting with journalists at Monza, and the former Ferrari boss even chatted with the teenager on the Formula 2 grid.