The 2025 grid is increasingly complete. Kick Sauber made official this Wednesday the departure of its current drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, at the end of the season. The team, which will become Audi from 2026, had already announced the incorporation of Nico Hülkenberg for the next campaign and all that remained was to know who his teammate would be. Finally the bet is Gabriel Bortoleto (20 years old), current leader of the Formula 2 championship. The Brazilian will debut in the Great Circus next year and becomes Fernando Alonso’s first pupil – he has been part of A14 Management since 2022 – to reach the highest category.
Bortoleto made his debut this season in Formula 2 (after winning F3) and is playing for the title with Isack Hadjar. His addition to the Sauber lineup is for two seasons, as announced by the team based in Hilwil (Switzerland). The team is in the midst of a renewal process for the transition to Audi and in July it hired Mattia Binotto, former Ferrari boss, as sports director. However, this season is being very complicated for the Swiss: they are last in the constructors’ championship and have not scored any points with three races remaining.
At the same time, Gabriel Bortoleto is part of McLaren’s development driver program. Those from Woking have announced that the Brazilian will leave the team at the end of 2024 “for a new opportunity in his career”, which involves Sauber.
With his arrival in Formula 1, he becomes the first Brazilian driver in the competition since 2017, when Felipe Massa retired. Furthermore, his landing in automobile competition in 2025 implies that he will be the fourth ‘rookie’ on the grid along with Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Oliver Bearman (Haas).
The 2025 grid, practically complete
With Gabriel Bortoleto joining Sauber from 2025, there is only one vacancy to be defined for next season in Formula 1. In Racing Bulls only Yuki Tsunoda is confirmed, but it is not known who will occupy the other car, although his main candidate It is the New Zealander Liam Lawson – who replaced Daniel Ricciardo since the Austin Grand Prix -.
Thus, there are 19 drivers confirmed for 2025, but the performance of Checo Pérez (with a contract until 2026 with Red Bull) has once again fueled rumors about the possibility of him being fired at the end of the current campaign.
In 2024, there were no changes regarding the composition of the teams in 2023. But there will be many movements next year, with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari as the main incentive or the incorporation of Carlos Sainz to Williams. For now, this is how the composition of the teams would look in 2025:
– McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
– Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
– Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Checo Pérez
– Mercedes: George Russell and Kimi Antonelli
– Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll
– Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan
– Haas: Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman
- RB: Yuki Tsunoda
– Williams: Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon
- Sauber: Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto
The first A14 Management driver to arrive in Formula 1
In 2022, Gabriel Bortoleto signed a contract to be part of A14 Management, the pilot representation company that the Asturian launched three years ago. Next year, the boss and the pupil will coincide on the Formula 1 tracks.
Beyond the Brazilian, Alonso’s agency also includes Pepe Martí – who this year made his debut in Formula 2 with Campos Racing and is part of the Red Bull academy – and Nikola Tsolov. The Bulgarian made his debut in Formula 3 in 2024 with the ART team, becoming the youngest to do so.
This November 6 will be remembered for Fernando Alonso’s representation company, since Tsolov’s signing for the Red Bull driver program has also been announced and he will race next season with Campos Racing.
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