Sauber’s new 2025 Formula 1 recruit, Gabriel Bortoleto, has expressed his deep admiration for Max Verstappen’s driving style, highlighting the Dutchman as a key source of inspiration in his racing career, alongside his ultimate idol, Ayrton Senna.
Bortoleto, who currently leads the F2 championship standings with just two rounds remaining. Sauber confirmed him last week as one of their new signings for their final season before transitioning to Audi’s works team. The Brazilian driver’s impressive performances in F2, after clinching the F3 title in 2023, convinced Sauber to recruit him, marking the end of his time with McLaren’s development programme.
In a recent interview on the F1 Nation podcast, the interviewer asked Bortoleto which drivers he admired, aside from his manager Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian wasted no time in naming Verstappen as one of his biggest inspirations, particularly praising the reigning World Champion’s ability to extract maximum performance from his car during qualifying laps.
“I really like how Max drives,” Bortoleto explained. “I really admire his quali laps and how much he extracts from the car in those laps, the way he drives and races. Of course, it can be very hard, as we’ve seen with recent controversies after the Mexico Grand Prix, but they’re fighting for a world championship, so we all expect them to race each other like that.”
Bortoleto revealed that his admiration for Verstappen dates back to his karting days when he was part of a team that Verstappen had previously competed with. “Since I was very young, I was part of a team that Max grew up with, so they would always tell me stories about him. I always asked myself, ‘What would Max do in this situation?’ I wanted to be a bit like him because he won everything in his junior series,” Bortoleto added.
While Verstappen’s driving has made a significant impact on Bortoleto, the Brazilian made it clear that his ultimate hero remains Ayrton Senna. “My biggest hero is Ayrton Senna,” Bortoleto said. “For the driver he was, for everything he did on track, but also for what he did outside of racing. He was a great person with great morals, and the legacy he left behind inspires me. Everything he did for Brazil, that’s something I look up to.”
As Bortoleto prepares for his F1 debut with Sauber in 2025, his blend of admiration for both Verstappen and Senna reflects the balance of modern F1 influences and classic racing legends that shape his aspirations in the sport.
