Written by Vyas Ponnuri
The suspense grew over the vacant KICK Sauber seat with passing time. While plenty of contenders were thrown into the ring, it was eventually Gabriel Bortoleto who emerged victorious in this race for the seat at the Swiss outfit from 2025.
The Brazilian racer was in direct competition with ten-time F1 race winner Valtteri Bottas, who currently races for the team in green in 2024. Williams racer Franco Colapinto too emerged into the fray of contenders, thanks to his steady introduction into Formula One, while former Haas racer Mick Schumacher too emerged as a late contender for the seat.
The team had already announced Nico Hülkenberg's move from Haas early this year, giving them plenty of time to focus on who should fill the second seat on the grid. The team's eventual transition into Audi in 2026 also meant the German marque would have some say in who drives for the team.
It naturally made sense from a sponsorship standpoint to have a German name at a German team, something that will be realised come the 2026 Formula One season.
With one seat decided early in the driver market race, KICK Sauber would have plenty of time to decide on who would fill the other seat for 2025. This was way back at the end of April, when the driver market situation was still rife, and several big names still remained up for grabs.
There was the case of Sergio Perez, although he would sign a two-year contract with Red Bull later in the year. The team also set their eyes on Carlos Sainz, who would be leaving the Ferrari team at the end of 2024.
Sainz, however, was arguably the fulcrum of the driver market in 2024, his consistency, speed, and strategic racing behind the wheel having caught the eye of every team scouting to fill vacancies for 2025. The Spaniard would eventually be snapped up by Williams come the summer break, with James Vowles pulling off a remarkable effort to woo Sainz and get his signature.
However, KICK Sauber was also undergoing restructuring within the top management at the same time, as Head of the Audi project Andreas Seidl left the team, having joined over 18 months prior. The newest name on the block was Mattia Binotto, fresh from a year on the sidelines after serving as Ferrari team principal in 2022.
Once the top brass had settled in, the talks took a different direction, with the spotlight shifting onto signing a rookie, or even continuing with Bottas alongside Hülkenberg into the team's transitionary era.
However, as talks progressed, the top brass gravitated towards bringing on even a lesser experienced contender. While it would certainly be a tough introductory year for a rookie in 2025, given it would be difficult to get up to speed in the slower car, the fresh influx of investment by Audi in 2026 would eventually result in a longer term gain.
Furthermore, it would allow a youngster to etch their names into Audi's storied history, which has largely spanned endurance racing and rallying over the years. Becoming the first Formula One driver for the German manufacturer would certainly hold its weight in gold.
While Audi's Formula One journey would certainly be one into the unknown, there's no doubt the team would reap greater benefits investing in a young rookie to nurture his talent. And their options weren't drivers you would write off too soon.
The emergence of Williams racer Franco Colapinto certainly made the Argentine a great candidate for the KICK Sauber team. While the Williams junior brought immense marketability thanks to his passionate fans back home, With Vowles looking for a seat to place his junior driver on the 2025 grid, and a vacant spot at the Swiss team, this opportunity certainly looked possible.
However, the greater intention was for Colapinto to return to Williams once a seat opened up. Hence, the opportunity was to only loan the Argentine for a short duration, with an opportunity to call him back to the Williams squad in the future. This was a no-no for the Audi management, who wanted a junior racer free from any loaners or prior commitments.
While Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher emerged as a late contender, his WEC commitments and reserve status complicated the matter, as the team would face the same issues if Mercedes were to recall Schumacher in an eventuality.
Step forward Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian, currently racing in Formula 2 for championship leaders Invicta Racing, emerged as a leading contender. His chances were bolstered when McLaren agreed to release the Brazilian from their academy, in a bid to avoid hampering his progress up into Formula One, avoiding any complications with loaning drivers.
With KICK Sauber eventually setting a deadline of mid-November to announce the driver partnering Hülkenberg. This also gave Bortoleto a chance to soak in the feeling of being in front of his passionate fans, who would be cheering him on in 2025. It was also a sneak peak of what would follow in 2025, putting an end to Brazil's long wait for its next big star to take to Formula One.
The team eventually confirmed Bortoleto's signing on Wednesday, putting an end to the long-standing debate of their second seat for 2025. The Brazilian would be able to learn vital tips from the other end of the garage, with his teammate a veteran of over 200 Formula One starts, and a seasoned midfield contender over the years.
What does Bortoleto bring to the table?
While KICK Sauber certainly offered the opportunity for Bortoleto to sign the dotted line, it was all made possible thanks to the Brazilian's performances in junior formulae.
"Gabriel has already demonstrated in the junior categories that he has what it takes to be a winning driver," Binotto stated. Bortoleto won the Formula 3 title back in 2023, in an extremely consistent season for Trident. The Brazilian took only two feature race wins all season, and banked on his points scores from all rounds bar one race, since his win in round two at Melbourne.
The new generation of Formula 2 cars meant all drivers started from scratch, and this gave Bortoleto a clean slate to express his talent and speed. He was also signed onto McLaren's Driver Development Programme at the start of the year.
While he initially got up to speed with the requirements of Formula 2, Bortoleto's maiden F2 win in the Austrian feature race turned things around. Further points followed at Silverstone and Hungary, before he scored second at Spa before the summer break on a high.
Bortoleto also displayed excellent resilience to bounce back from a qualifying setback that left him last on the grid at Monza. An overtaking spree saw him finish eighth, taking home the final point. Then came the unthinkable, a last-to-first drive in the feature race, albeit helped by a well-timed safety car.
Bortoleto's raw speed and racecraft helped Bortoleto aided his ascendancy to the championship lead, a position he holds 4.5 points to the good heading into the final two weekends of the season at Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
While he is known to be a speedy contender on track, Bortoleto's humility and his composure, and his ability to learn from mistakes have also been exceptional, and aided his rise up to Formula One in 2025.
There's no doubt he will be one of the names to watch out for, in a grid stacked with rookies next year, and you could say KICK Sauber have made the right call signing the talented Brazilian onto their roster for the next few years.
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