Gabriel Bortoleto

Gabriel Bortoleto Bio

Gabriel Lourenzo Bortoleto Oliveira, known as Gabi, is a Brazilian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. Born on 14 October 2004 in Osasco, São Paulo, Bortoleto has built one of the fastest-rising résumés in modern motorsport, winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2023 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2024, the latter as a rookie. He is a member of the Sauber works roster and is contracted to stay on with the team as it transitions to the Audi factory identity in 2026.

Managed by Fernando Alonso’s A14 agency, Bortoleto has become one of the most talked-about young talents in the paddock. His calm race craft, late-braking ability, and willingness to attack from anywhere on the grid have drawn praise from veteran drivers and team principals alike.

Early Life and Background

Gabriel Lourenzo Bortoleto Oliveira was born on 14 October 2004 in Osasco, a city in the greater São Paulo metropolitan area. He grew up in a household with deep ties to Brazilian motorsport. His father, Lincoln Oliveira, is chief executive officer and co-owner of the Stock Car Pro Series in Brazil and founded the internet provider Americanet, which merged with Vero in 2023.

The family also runs KTF Racing, a stock car and karting team, and Bortoleto’s older brother Enzo previously raced in BRDC British Formula 3. Surrounded by both business and racing influences, Bortoleto began competitive karting at the age of seven, the moment his path toward a professional career effectively began.

Among his close friends he is known by the nickname Bibi, and his racing idol is Ayrton Senna. He moved to Europe as a young teenager to chase a single-seater career with the full support of his family.

Path to NASCAR

Bortoleto’s career has unfolded entirely within the open-wheel ladder of European and international motorsport, not within the NASCAR ranks. He progressed from karts into Italian Formula 4, then to the Formula Regional European Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship, and finally the FIA Formula 2 Championship before reaching Formula One. As a result, this section does not apply to his career path, and the balance of this profile traces his development through the global single-seater pyramid rather than American stock car racing.

Gabriel Bortoleto Career

Early Career (2020–2022)

Bortoleto made his car racing debut in the 2020 Italian F4 Championship with Prema Powerteam, racing alongside future stars such as Sebastián Montoya, Gabriele Minì, and Dino Beganovic. His first single-seater victory came at Mugello, and he ended the year fifth in the overall standings and fourth among rookies, an impressive introduction to car racing.

In 2021 he moved up to the Formula Regional European Championship with FA Racing, run by MP Motorsport, and finished fifteenth overall. A partial Formula Regional Asian Championship campaign at the start of 2022 produced a reverse-grid win at Yas Marina before he returned to Europe with R-ace GP, where he won at Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona on his way to sixth in the standings.

FIA Formula 3 Breakthrough (2023)

Bortoleto signed with Trident for the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship and was the first driver announced to a team for that season. His opening weekend at Bahrain ended with a victory in the feature race after the initial winner was penalised, and he extended his lead by taking pole and another feature win at Albert Park in Melbourne.

He scored regularly through the spring and summer, with podiums at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, and the Hungaroring, while a non-score at Spa-Francorchamps did little to slow his momentum. A 38-point advantage entering the Monza finale was more than enough, as his main title rivals failed to secure pole, and Bortoleto was crowned FIA Formula 3 champion on Friday of the final round.

FIA Formula 2 Breakthrough (2024)

Stepping up to FIA Formula 2 with Invicta Racing in 2024, Bortoleto opened the year with a pole in Bahrain and podium contention in both races. After an early dip in form, he took his first Formula 2 victory in the Austria feature race, passing Joshua Dürksen and Pepe Martí to move into the top three of the standings.

His defining moment came at Monza, where a spin in qualifying forced him to start last for both races. Benefiting from a perfectly timed safety car, he charged to a last-to-first feature race win, the first time a driver had won from the back of the grid in Formula 2. The performance earned him the Mecachrome Outstanding Win Award and underlined his race-day potential.

He arrived at the Yas Marina finale with a half-point gap to Isack Hadjar, then built a four-point cushion by climbing from ninth to second in the sprint. When Hadjar stalled on the feature race grid, Bortoleto controlled the championship with a measured drive to second, becoming Formula 2 champion as a rookie. He is the seventh driver in history to win the GP2/Formula 2 title in his rookie season and the second Brazilian after Felipe Drugovich.

Sauber / Audi Era (2025–Present)

Bortoleto was signed by Sauber ahead of the 2025 Formula One season on a multi-year deal that will carry through the team’s transition to Audi in 2026. He replaced Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu and was paired with experienced German Nico Hülkenberg. Endorsements from Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, combined with praise from McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, helped clear his path to the seat.

He impressed immediately on debut in Australia, reaching Q2 and outqualifying his teammate before a wet-race crash ended his day. Early-season struggles followed, with the C45 described by Bortoleto as undriveable in Bahrain, but the introduction of upgrades at the Spanish Grand Prix marked a turning point. In Austria he finished seventh, becoming the first Brazilian to score Formula One points since 2017, and he backed that up with a strong run to sixth in Hungary after staying past curfew to perfect his setup with his engineers.

A 57 g impact at the São Paulo sprint ruled him out of qualifying for his home grand prix, and a collision with Lance Stroll in the race ended his weekend early, but his overall rookie campaign has shown clear upward momentum heading into the Audi era.

Driving Style and Strengths

Bortoleto is known for his smooth inputs, late-braking confidence, and composure under pressure, particularly in wheel-to-wheel combat. His strategic awareness has been highlighted by several opportunistic results, including the Monza feature race win, and his partnership with his engineers at Sauber has grown quickly as he adapts to Formula One machinery.

Notable Races and Milestones

Signature moments include his debut Formula One points in Austria 2025, his last-to-first Monza Formula 2 victory, and the clutch Yas Marina feature race that sealed his 2024 title. He also became the first Brazilian to score in Formula One since 2017, an achievement that placed him back on the global map alongside the country’s three world champions.

Gabriel Bortoleto Career Wins

Across karting and the junior single-seater ladder, Bortoleto built a strong record of race wins and major titles, with the most significant achievements coming in the FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2 Championships.

Formula 2 and Formula 3 Highlights

Bortoleto won the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Racing in his rookie season, scoring feature race victories at Spielberg and Monza, the latter from last on the grid. He also won the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Trident after a dominant campaign that included three feature race wins. He is one of only a handful of drivers to lift the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in successive seasons.

Other Wins and Performances

In the Formula Regional European Championship, Bortoleto won races at Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona in 2022. In Italian Formula 4 he took his maiden single-seater victory at Mugello in 2020, and in the Formula Regional Asian Championship he claimed a reverse-grid win at Yas Marina. He is a multiple national karting champion in Brazil and a podium finisher in European and World karting competition.

Gabriel Bortoleto Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

Bortoleto’s father, Lincoln Oliveira, is chief executive officer and co-owner of the Stock Car Pro Series in Brazil and the founder of the internet provider Americanet. The family operates KTF Racing, a stock car and karting team, and his older brother Enzo previously raced in BRDC British Formula 3. This motorsport-heavy family environment gave Bortoleto direct exposure to both team management and on-track competition from a young age.

Personal Life

Bortoleto has been in a relationship with computer science student Isabella Bernardini since 2020. He is represented on the business side by A14 Management, the agency owned by two-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion Fernando Alonso. His career is supported by sponsors including Porto Seguro, O Boticário, Banco de Brasília, and Qualcomm Snapdragon.

2025 Season Performance

Bortoleto’s 2025 rookie season with Sauber has been a clear story of two halves. The opening rounds in Australia, China, Japan, and Bahrain were challenging, with the C44 car proving difficult to drive and the team finishing near the back of the field. Crashes in mixed conditions and reliability issues, including a fuel system problem in Miami, limited his early scoring opportunities.

The arrival of car upgrades at the Spanish Grand Prix transformed his results, with a run of points finishes in Austria, Belgium, and Hungary showcasing the potential that had drawn Sauber and Audi to sign him. His seventh place in Austria made him the first Brazilian to score in Formula One since 2017, while his sixth in Hungary underlined his growing confidence on a range of circuits.

The São Paulo weekend was bittersweet, as a heavy sprint race impact at the Senna S curve ruled him out of qualifying and a collision with Lance Stroll ended his home grand prix early. Despite that setback, he remains contracted to lead the team into the Audi era in 2026, where the experience gained as a rookie is expected to translate into a more consistent sophomore campaign.