Strong F1 rookie showings helped persuade Sauber to fast-track Bortoleto

Sauber was going to sign Gabriel Bortoleto for the Audi project in 2026 regardless of if he raced for the team in 2025, according to Mattia Binotto, but the team's COO and CTO says the timing was partly reinforced by the strong performance of Formula 1 rookies this year.

Bortoleto (pictured above), who is currently leading the Formula 2 championship standings, was announced on Wednesday as joining Nico Hulkenberg at Stake next season, before the Sauber-run team becomes Audi the following year for the start of new regulations. Hulkenberg and the Brazilian rookie will replace the current pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and while Binotto says the recent strong showings by the likes of Oliver Bearman have not really surprised him, they have boosted confidence in the ability of newcomers to succeed straight away in F1.

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“I know how great some of the young drivers are. I know Ollie [Bearman] very well because of my past experience -- he was part of our driver academy [at Ferrari] at the time," said Binotto, who served as Ferrari F1 team principal from 2019-'22. "I knew that Ollie could do very well in F1 and that was not a surprise to me, to see how well he is performing today.

“I think, yes, they are all doing very well, and that’s great. It's great for F1. But I trust them all -- I know they can do well, and I don't think that I was waiting to see them doing well to make a decision.

“I followed Gabriel’s career, certainly even more intensively in the last weeks and months. I saw him racing so well, being impressed by the speed, the potential, but also by this capacity to first develop and improve. I think he is one of the most talented and high-potential drivers we've got as rookies, and for Audi, that was a no-brainer -- go for it.

“So, we would have gone for Gabriel -- that would have been our choice anyway. The second question we were asking ourselves was should it be straight away in ’25 or should we give him some time first to develop and then maybe postpone to ’26?

“But finally, yes, also seeing young drivers doing well in F1 gave me more confidence with the fact that Gabriel can do very well from the very start, and that if any, that has been the convincing factor. Not of the overall choice for a young, interesting young driver for Audi -- [for that] journey and project it is important and essential -- but more how soon could that maybe be happening; and again, I am convinced he will do well from the very start.”

Bortoleto is set to join Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson as rookies tackling their first full seasons in F1 next year, while Franco Colapinto has also been linked with a seat in the Red Bull setup.