Gabriel Bortoleto — 2025 season

Gabriel Bortoleto's debut 2025 season with Kick Sauber was a characteristic rookie campaign in the ground-effect era: a period of adaptation, punctuated by significant learning and eventual flashes of genuine pace. Entering a grid that had seen Red Bull's dominance of 2022-2023 begin to close up in 2024, Bortoleto faced the challenge of extracting performance from a midfield car in a highly competitive environment.

Going in

As a highly-rated junior, Gabriel Bortoleto arrived in Formula 1 for the 2025 season with the #5 on his Kick Sauber, marking his step up from the feeder series. The ground-effect regulations, which had been in place since 2022, had matured, leading to a more tightly packed midfield where small gains translated to significant grid position changes. For a rookie, this meant every session carried immense pressure, with little margin for error against experienced competitors like Fernando Alonso — 2025 season. The expectation for Bortoleto was primarily to learn, adapt, and demonstrate consistent improvement, rather than immediate points, especially given Kick Sauber's historical position in the constructors' standings.

How it played out

Bortoleto's season began with a challenging sequence of races. An accident at the Australian Grand Prix and an engine failure in Miami contributed to five retirements across the 24-race calendar. The initial rounds saw him frequently qualifying in the lower half of the grid, with finishes often a lap down, such as his 14th place at the Chinese Grand Prix. This early phase, while tough, was not uncommon for a rookie, echoing the initial struggles seen by drivers like Lance Stroll — 2017 season in their first year. However, a turning point arrived mid-season. Bortoleto secured his first points at the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing 8th after starting from the same position. This was followed by a 9th place in Belgium and his strongest performance of the year, a 6th place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, starting from 7th on the grid. He continued this momentum with an 8th in Italy and a final point in Mexico, bringing his total to 19 championship points, placing him 19th in the Drivers' Championship with no wins or podiums.

Defining moments

The Hungarian Grand Prix stands out as Bortoleto's peak performance. Qualifying seventh and converting that into a sixth-place finish demonstrated both raw speed and racecraft, a significant achievement for a debutant in a Kick Sauber. This result, along with his consistent points finishes through the summer, highlighted his ability to capitalize when the car package allowed. His qualifying efforts, particularly the two P7 starts in Hungary and Italy, and a P8 in Austria, showed a growing confidence and understanding of the car's limits. Conversely, the three accidents, including a zero-lap retirement in São Paulo, underscored the fine margins and steep learning curve inherent in Formula 1, a challenge that even experienced drivers face when pushing the limits of the machinery.