IMAGO / Michael Potts

Hailing from Sao Paolo, hometown of the great Ayrton Senna, 19-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto is quickly becoming the one to look out for in the F1 world. He won the F3 title in 2023, which was his rookie season and is currently competing in F2. Bortoleto has turned a lot of heads in the paddock and has now caught the attention of three-time reigning world champion, Max Verstappen.

As seen in a video clip uploaded on X, the Dutchman praised Bortoleto, and revealed what he told him when the two of them met. 

“He’s a great guy. He’s a very nice kid. And, yeah, if he keeps doing well then I do see there is the possibility for him, of course, to make it.”

Verstappen also pointed out that Bortoleto is from Brazil, which means there will be a lot of pressure on him. The country is desperate for a Championship caliber driver making waves on the world stage, and the promise Bortoleto is showing early on, makes him a potential candidate for the same.

This is also why Verstappen doesn’t want to put any additional pressure on him. He just hopes that the 19-year-old goes on to win the F2 title this year.

Verstappen, however, isn’t the only F1 champion to notice Bortoleto’s talents. In 2022, Fernando Alonso signed him up at A14 (his driver management company), and the young Brazilian finished P6 in the F4 championship. Alonso has been in constant touch with him, and he has been working hard to climb up the ranks. 

Max Verstappen not the only one aware of Bortoleto’s talents

When he joined the F3 grid, Bortoleto was not a part of any driver academy belonging to F1 teams. However, McLaren’s Driver Development Director Emanuele Pirro noticed him quickly, and started conversations to bring him to Woking.

Once things became official, Bortoleto expressed his gratitude to the top people of McLaren. Bortoleto claimed that having the McLaren structure behind him is very important. He further explained how he can learn from the engineers and other drivers, which will help him grow. 

Considering himself to be an aggressive driver, Bortoleto believes he can also be smart when the situation calls for it. The Brazilian added he is good at being adaptive to situations that arise in racing, which adds to his arsenal. Bortoleto also likes driving in wet conditions, similar to Max Verstappen which has already led to comparisons between the two drivers.