F1 | Audi: Bortoleto priority if he is free from McLaren

The 2025 world championship could see as many as five rookies at the start. According to the statistics, Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson are not ‘rookies’, but beyond the numbers they are still two young people who will compete in their first full season. Together with them there will be Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Jack Doohan, who are one hundred percent rookies. Beyond the internal choices of Red Bull, where at the moment there are three drivers in the running (Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Isack Hadjar) for a seat, the only piece of the substantial 2025 market still to be filled concerns Audi.

After the announcement of the hiring of Nico Hulkenberg (last April 26), the Hinwil team chased many drivers (including Carlos Sainz) receiving a series of ‘no, thank yous’. The idea of ​​focusing on a pair of top drivers has faded, to the point of bringing back into the running Valtteri Bottas, who in terms of palmares is certainly not the last to arrive, but comes from two decidedly unexciting seasons.

Obviously, the Finn is not the only one on the list that has been in the hands of Mattia Binotto for a few weeks. Today, it is not a pessimistic vision to hypothesize that for Audi (even if it will be Sauber’s last year) the next season will still be marked by suffering, a scenario that can lead to two different approaches in the search for the type of driver.

The team could focus on an experienced driver like Bottas in the hope of being able to seize some opportunities to enter the top-10, but the terrain could also be seen as ideal for bringing a young driver onto the track, without too much stress related to the results. An investment in the future that does not present particular contraindications in the event that things do not go as planned. This potential choice has a name and a surname, Gabriel Bortoleto.

Brazilian from Sao Paulo, Bortoleto will turn twenty on October 14. In the last two seasons he has given a positive twist to his career, putting him at the attention of the Formula 1 market. After a season in F.4 in 2020 and the following two in Formula Regional, Gabriel changed pace in 2023, winning the Formula 3 championship as a rookie. A victory that opened the doors to McLaren’s junior program and Formula 2. In the cadet series Bortoleto has confirmed a very convincing growth, which has brought him (with three stages to go) to second place in the general classification, just ten points behind leader Hadjar.

The possibility that the Brazilian will score the F3+F2 strike as a rookie is concrete (in relatively recent times only Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc have managed to do so) and this has contributed to increasing the attention of Formula 1. Over the Monza weekend the rumours increased, and in the first meeting with the media after the announcement that made him official in the role of operational and technical director of the Audi F1 project, Mattia Binotto did not hide the presence of Bortoleto on his list.

Gernot Dollner, CEO Audi, and Mattia Binotto, head of the F1 program

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I would like to point out that this new professional chapter of mine began a couple of weeks ago,” he explained, “but (in terms of choosing a driver) we need to evaluate whether to focus on experience or something else. Ours is a long-term project, so the question is what is best for us considering the final objective. Do we need to have short-term experience and then move on to something else? I don’t think we are in a position to answer today, we are certainly listening to all the potential candidates and evaluating the pros and cons, but we want to decide as soon as possible.”

“Theo (Pourchaire) is our reserve driver – he added – so in some ways he is already part of the family and there is no doubt that he is on our list. Bortoleto is doing very well in F.2, I think he has shown that he is a great talent, we are watching what he is doing and as with Gabriel also with other drivers”.

If Audi is going to focus on the Brazilian, it will also have to reach an agreement with McLaren, the team with which Bortoleto is currently under contract. There are two possibilities: the conclusion of the contract that currently ties the Brazilian to the junior program (which would end all his ties with McLaren) or the loan, which would allow the Woking team to continue to have an option for a future call. Provided, of course, that this is a condition accepted by Audi. The decision is expected soon.