Written by Ellie Nicholls, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
In the final round of the 2024 Formula 2 season, Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on the feature race win. However, while he settled for second on track, it was enough for him to win the 2024 Formula 2 championship.
Speaking after the Abu Dhabi feature race, Bortoleto shared his thoughts on a frankly incredible season for the rookie driver, and what winning the championship truly meant to him.
Bortoleto had a somewhat difficult start to his Formula 2 career — despite claiming pole and tallying decent points in Bahrain, he failed to score points in the next two race weekends, not managing to find the form that one might expect from a Formula 3 champion.
However, despite the fact that his maiden campaign did not get off to a particularly strong start, Bortoleto’s meteoric rise up the standings, eventually culminating in his championship victory — is a true testament to the rapid progress the Brazilian made as a driver across the season.
“It's been a very long season,” admitted Bortoleto. “[Invicta Racing and I] have been through a lot of things since the beginning where we struggled a lot — in Jeddah, in Australia, where I had a very big crash, and the team never gave up.
“I never gave up as well, and from that moment on I think we deserved every single point we achieved in this championship. We had luck, but we also created our own luck, you know, with our pace, with our work, all the extra hours we did in the sim, all the extra hours.
“So, yeah, it's been a very long run. My progression through this season has been the best progression I had in my entire life as a driver.”
Bortoleto also emphasised the importance of perseverance throughout the season. Despite set-backs in his rookie season, it was vital for Bortoleto to bounce back and learn from those experiences, instead of being discouraged by them.
“There were moments this season that were very tough, that were very demanding from both sides — from my side as well as from [the team’s] side, but we always aimed for only one target: winning the championship, to do the best we could race by race, progressing every single weekend.”
“When you have tough moments in life, they make you a much stronger person.” the Brazilian shared.
“Those moments have made me a better person, a better driver, and a much better team player as well, because you need to be a very strong person with the team through difficult moments, without it getting you down or being depressive, just because you’re not winning races.”
The rookie champion also explained he was thankful to be able to reward the team’s confidence in him and support throughout the year in the form of both a drivers’ and teams’ championship.
“[Invicta signing Bortoleto] was a big bet for them, because when they signed me I was not even a Formula 3 champion yet, I was still in my F3 season.
“[I was] obviously leading in Silverstone, but it was a lot for them at that moment, to bet on a rookie driver to win a championship, and I can say that I delivered on what they asked me to do — super proud of that.”
Bortoleto also noted that he was inspired by his racing hero and fellow Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna - and that after he started sporting a helmet in tribute to the F1 legend in Imola, he began to see his performance get stronger and stronger.
“[Senna]’s my hero… as a Brazilian I was able to watch his races — unfortunately not live, because I was born many years after he died in ‘94 — but you know, growing up in Brazil, listening to the histories about him, going to São Paulo or all over Brazil you see images and paintings of him.
“In the past as well, I’ve done liveries representing Senna and Brazil, but this year was very special because it was 30 years since his death, and his family was in Imola when I launched the helmet I was using, with the Brazilian colours and his logos.”
“It brought me a lot of luck in Imola, where I got my first pole - no, second pole - but my first podium in the feature race. And then from that moment on, things got better and better, and I decided to keep the helmet. Not because I was superstitious, but mainly because I was proud of representing my country and also representing Senna’s name.”
From Imola onwards, Bortoleto grew from strength to strength, earning eight podiums across the season, two of these atop the Formula 2 podium. His magnificent rise from P22 to P1 in Monza was undoubtedly the highlight of the 2024 season.
Winning Formula 3 and Formula 2 Championships back-to-back is no mean feat — and Bortoleto has undoubtedly proven himself worthy, joining the exclusive group that includes the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri, thanks to his strong pace and impressive consistency across the season.
“For me, it’s a privilege to be all around these names. They are drivers I’ve always been inspired by when I saw them racing in junior series, and they were winning everything, dominating the championships as rookies, surprising the F1 teams, getting seats in F1 and winning races.
“That’s obviously one of my targets — to represent my country in F1 and to win races and hopefully championships one day. So yeah, it’s amazing to be around these names and to be one of the few people that managed to do this achievement.”
Bortoleto also shared that he believes his rapid improvement throughout the season was a large factor behind his call-up to Formula One, and thanked KICK Sauber CEO Mattia Binotto for the trust he placed in the Brazilian driver, signing him for the 2025 season.
Speaking about his F1 future, Bortoleto explained that this season in Formula 2 has taught him a lot to carry into next year — developing not only as a driver but also as a person throughout 2024.
“From this season, I can say that [it is important to] never give up, always keep pushing, be a leader and don’t let people get you down — you need them to be positive, and you need them to be pulling you up not down.
“I think that’s what I’ve learned the most this year, because in my difficult moments at the beginning of the season, I had everyone — my family, the team, my girlfriend — here as well, and the sponsors, the federation, everyone in Brazil, the fans supporting me — ‘keep pushing, you can do it, you can win it!’”
“You need to be surrounded by good people that can help you to achieve your dreams, and hopefully I can bring this to the team next year to develop them, because we know it’s a team going through a new project right now with Audi.
“Together with Nico [Hulkenberg] we can hopefully do a very good job, and achieve many things with Audi in the future.”
Gabriel Bortoleto has certainly kept pushing along his way, climbing the junior series ladder, one step at a time.
As he climbs up to the biggest stage of all next year, he wouldn’t just have a country backing him — but a worldwide audience who know just what the young Brazilian is capable of on the racetrack, thanks to his Formula 2 exploits.