Sauber has confirmed that Gabriel Bortoleto will partner Nico Hülkenberg in the 2025 Formula 1 campaign, indicating that both Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are set to leave.
The Brazilian Formula 2 driver is the championship leader of the said category and expressed all his pride and emotion in joining such an interesting project.
“This is one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not in all of sports,” Bortoleto said. “Joining a team that combines the rich motorsport history of Sauber and Audi is a true honor.
“Beyond simply being a member, I aim to grow with this ambitious project and reach the pinnacle of motorsport. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me by the team and for the chance to work alongside an experienced driver like Nico.
“Both programs have a proven track record of nurturing young talent, and I am confident that together, we will write our own success story.”
Bortoleto has shown great consistency throughout his Formula 2 career, so far, which is a crucial characteristic that teams want to have in F1 as well. Mattia Binotto, the new COO and CTO of Sauber Motorsport, has underlined that.
“Gabriel has already demonstrated in the junior categories that he has what it takes to be a winning driver,” Mattia Binotto said. “We are very pleased that he will become a team member of Sauber and Audi.
“Together with Gabriel, we are on a journey towards success, and we will evolve into a unified force to shape a new era for Audi in motorsport. Nico and Gabriel represent the ideal combination of experience and youth, positioning us strongly for the future.”
Regarding Valtteri Bottas, the Finnish driver will probably become the Mercedes reserve driver in 2025 after an extremely negative year with Sauber, which hasn’t been able to perform at the same level as its other rivals.
Since the lineup is now complete, it comes as a natural consequence that also Bottas’ teammate Zhou is set to leave the outfit and will probably remain without a seat for the following season.