Nico Hulkenberg has commended new team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, describing him as “fast as hell”, as the pair begin life at Sauber ahead of the new Formula 1 season.

Hulkenberg and Bortoleto complete one of the opposite pairings this year, with the veteran of 230 Grands Prix signed alongside the rookie and reigning Formula 2 champion, the Swiss team’s final driver roster before it fully transitions into the works Audi project for 2026.

Such was the Brazilian’s performances for Invicta Racing in the premier feeder series last year, that Sauber sought to spring him from his contract in McLaren’s Driver Development Programme and hire him ahead of other potential candidates.

Asked by F1’s official website how the burgeoning partnership has been going so far, Hulkenberg had nothing but praise for his new partner.

“Very good. I think we get on really well – he’s a really nice guy, a smart kid, fast as hell!

“He learns really quickly. He did his first race sim here [Bahrain] at the test, so I look forward to work alongside him.”

Things ‘progressing well’ for Sauber ahead of 2025 campaign

Hulkenberg is making his second bow for Sauber this year, having spent the 2013 season with the Hinwil-based squad in-between stints with Force India.

However, there is all change from then to now, with former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto – now Sauber’s Chief Technical Officer – taking the reins of the team for the opening two rounds before the commencement of former Red Bull Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley in the role.

Hulkenberg, who has joined from Haas, spoke of his contentment within the team, having embedded himself into the working environment since the New Year, despite admitting he has “no idea” where it currently is compared to its rivals.

“It’s going well. We’ve been working together since January, had many factory days, simulator days. Obviously now [this is] our first time at track, but I think on that side things are progressing well.

“I enjoy working with the engineers in the office, with Mattia [Binotto], with everyone in the garage and back in the factory. When you change team, there’s so many things to explore and discover – one of the nice things when you change team, compared to when you’re with a team that you’re settled in.

“Lots of things to discover, everything’s new, and it’s like a new relationship! It’s an exciting, interesting phase now.”

READ MORE – Nico Hulkenberg: New Sauber UK hub ‘opens doors’ for Audi F1 project

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A new documentary produced by Formula 1 dubbed ‘Rookies’ has allowed viewers to gain extra insight into the series’ newest drivers.

After 2024 saw the same 20 drivers carried over from the year before in the same seats for the first time in F1 series history, 2025 has seen a dramatic swing back in the opposite direction and this new documentary on F1TV celebrates just that.

Produced and directed by Rory Child, ‘Rookies’ is a 50-minute documentary taking audiences behind the scenes to learn more about F1’s five newbies joining the 2025 grid.

The young men in question are Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls‘ Isack Hadjar.

Child guides the viewer through the experiences of each rookie throughout 2024, the pivotal year for all five of F1s newcomers and a series of talking heads including renowned commentator Alex Jacques and F2 & F3 CEO Bruno Michel compliment on-track footage and interviews with the five drivers themselves.

The doc opens with Jacques in voice-over, saying “A new generation is about to burst onto the Formula 1 scene,” before introducing our rookies in a series of action shots and interview snippets, interspersed with commentary from the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff and George Russell in a glitzy introduction.

Throughout, Jacques plays a familiar role in the documentary, one which Will Buxton performs in Netflix’s Drive to Survive, navigating the novice viewer through the intricacies of the single-seater pyramid.

Michel then hails the recent impact of F1 teams operating driver academies in junior formula and it is at this point we are introduced to the first of our five rookies: Bearman.

Here the framework for the doc is laid out, repeated with the remaining four rookies. 

We see the stories of how the rookies landed their F1 promotions, and what motivates them, but more importantly, we learn a bit more about their character from those around them.

Bearman performs best under pressure

So, what did we learn about Bearman?

Perhaps the best man to comment on Haas’ latest acquisition is his father David, who says “Whenever Ollie has been given that moment and when it has been time to perform, he’s stepped up. He’s stepped up every time and that’s incredible to watch.”

Bearman had to step during Round 2 of the 2024 F1 season to replace appendicitis-suffering Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Jeddah and he was able to jump in at the 11th hour and score points in seventh place. 

“I always found with Ollie if you put him under pressure he performs even better,” says his father.

Bearman acknowledged that the race in Jeddah “changed his life,” with F2 CEO Michel adding it “helped” open the door for more rookies to get their opportunities.

‘Fierce’ Antonelli is the long-term future for Mercedes

18-year-old Antonelli was another of the most talked about names last year in F2, having bypassed F3 to make his debut in the series.

The hype around the young Italian is now reaching an astronomical level as Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes.

Antonelli has long been a part of the Mercedes family, with Driver Development Advisor Gwen Lagrue pointing out he scouted the young Italian when he was just 11 years old, noting“He was already quite special” at that stage.

As the man who identified his talent, Lagrue is a great candidate to explain why Antonelli is so highly regarded.

Mercedes Team Principal Wolff says in the documentary “We expect difficult moments. With Kimi, we can see because of his upbringing, his background, his family, also being a part of our family for a long time he’s fierce.”

A crash during his FP1 debut with Mercedes at Monza perhaps characterised the ferocity Wolff credits Antonelli with possessing.

“There’s no doubt he has the talent, the ability, the skills and now it’s about allowing him the space to grow up within this crazy, tough, ruthless environment,” adds Wolff.

What is clear is that Mercedes and Antonelli aim to be together for the long haul with the Italian calling Wolff a “second dad to me” and the Austrian saying “we will protect him, we will allow him to grow. Kimi is the long-term future of the team.”

Doohan is driven to succeed

Doohan is unique among the five rookies in two ways.

First, he is the only one who didn’t have a full-time racing programme in 2024, instead acting as Alpine’s reserve driver.

Second, he is the only one who can call five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan his father.

“It’s very rewarding to see him [succeed] because he’s the one who asked me if he won another championship in Australia if I’d take him to Europe go-karting,” says Doohan senior.

“He was the one who wanted to do that and then it has been a ride from there and the drive and the determination that he’s had. So to see it actually pay off is so rewarding as a father.

“I know that he’s fully immersed himself into the team, into the sim work, he’s been doing plenty of mileage in the older cars so he’s embraced that and I think that’s the thing he knows if he wanted to go to the next level he needs to put in that groundwork. 

“I’m not just saying that as a father, I’m saying that as someone who’s had that mindset himself and I can see it in Jack. Sure I’ve given him some guidance but he’s got that drive and dedication himself.”

Bortoleto has the ‘soft skills to succeed in F1

Bortoleto graduates to F1 in the exclusive club of drivers to win the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in consecutive rookie seasons.

That granted the former McLaren junior the chance to sign with Sauber on a multi-year deal that will see the young Brazilian race under the banner of Audi in his sophomore season next year.

His story in the documentary begins with the stunning last-to-first victory at Monza, which helped catapult him into title contention.

It’s also a race that made Sauber Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer Mattia Binotto take notice.

“It’s that the type of drive that makes you convinced that the talent and the potential are there,” the Sauber boss says, interspersed with footage of Bortoleto celebrating on the Monza podium.

“I’m so happy that he chose us,” adds Binotto. 

“He was so enthusiastic about the Audi F1 project because it’s really starting from zero and I think that’s exactly the right mindset I was looking for.

“He impressed me the way he was driving, but he impressed me more as a person. What will be in F1 we will see but I think he’s got all the soft skills that are required to be a champion in the future.”

Hadjar delivers when called upon

Hadjar’s 2024 season was unlike his fellow F2 competitors as the reality that he might secure a drive in F1 was only realised post-season.

An agonising end to his title fight with Bortoleto ended with a stall at the start of the final race and that wasn’t the only moment of strife that Hadjar had to overcome in 2024.

The Red Bull junior lost the feature race win in Monaco thanks to a late Virtual Safety Car handing Zak O’Sullivan a free pitstop. 

One points finish from the first five races also characterised the hurdles Hadjar had to overcome as he sought to recover from an underwhelming rookie F2 season in 2023.

Someone who knows Hadjar better than most, and what it takes to succeed at the very top of the sport is Guillaume ‘Rocky’ Rocquelin, Head of the Driver Academy at Red Bull and the man who made the iconic “Du Best Weltmeister” radio call as Sebastian Vettel won his first world title in 2010.

With his future on the line, an F2 title at stake and the glimmer of hope he’d get a shot at F1, Rocky says Hadjar “He handled the pressure very well and I think to be honest, surprisingly, the pressure was more the previous year [2023] in his rookie campaign in F2.

“I think he had a very tough introduction to F2, he struggled quite a lot, the results weren’t what he was used to, and the pace wasn’t there. So there was a lot of question marks and I think he thought his career was over then.

“He entered this season with a lot more belief, a lot more confidence and I think while the pressure was there because the results were required, the pressure put on himself was less than the previous year because he had so much more confidence. 

“When called upon, he really delivered and did very well so there’s not much I can criticise from his performance,” he concludes. 

Red Bull told Hadjar that 2024 was his last chance to prove himself and he did just that, earning his spot on the 2025 grid alongside his four fellow rookies.

The quintet, based on the appraisals of those closest to them, all look set to make their mark on F1.

READ MORE – F1 releases behind the scenes documentary on 2025 rookies

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Nico Hulkenberg dismissed notions that he’ll be a mentor to Sauber team-mate and Formula 1 rookie Gabriel Bortoleto in 2025.

After several months searching for the driver to partner Hulkenberg at Sauber, the Swiss-based outfit settled on then-Formula 2 title contend Gabriel Bortoleto last November.

Bortoleto went on to clinch the 2024 Formula 2 title at the season-finale in Abu Dhabi, following the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in becoming a back-to-back rookie champion in junior formula.

The Brazilian now enters the F1 fold with Hulkenberg on the other side of the garage.

Hulkenberg boasts 227 Grand Prix starts and Motorsport Week asked the German in an exclusive conversation ahead of the Las Vegas GP whether he was looking forward to mentoring his rookie team-mate.

“I don’t think that when you’re team-mates that you’re really a mentor to your team-mate, even if you’re the older one and the more experienced one,” Hulkenberg replied. 

“But at the end of the day it’s competition, even if you’re in the same team and if you race for the team.

“I want to do a good job for [Sauber], but also for myself and my own career. 

“So, I just look forward to the work there and to the challenge.”

So, rather than mentoring, Hulkenberg will be leaning into the old adage of making sure he beats his team-mate ahead of anyone else this coming F1 season.

Bortoleto then, will have a big task on his hands keeping up with his veteran team-mate.

Hulkenberg positive after first day back at Sauber

Hulkenberg made his return to Sauber during the 2024 post-season test at Abu Dhabi, having last raced for the Swiss team in 2013.

The German driver performed well, setting the fourth fastest time, approximately nine-tenths faster than Sauber team-mate Bortoleto, who was making his F1 debut.

Speaking after the test, Hulkenberg said: “The first day together is now behind us and I think today has been a productive and positive start – we were able to take care of the basics and begin working together as a team.

“It was generally very useful to get a first impression of the car. I’m looking forward to building on this momentum in the new year and really diving into the work ahead of us.

“I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome and I can‘t wait to get back to this in 2025.”

READ MORE – Sauber: Low expectations for Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto in F1 2025

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The Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel said the 2024 season was the “best season we ever had“ as Formula 1 will have five graduates from the series in 2025.

There were 18 different race winners and 21 different podium finishers in 2024 – both smashing the previous records held in F2.

Four of those race winners; Gabriel Bortoleto, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar – will all race in F1 next season.

Jack Doohan will be the fifth driver, who competed in F2, on the grid next year after he last competed in the junior series back in 2023.

Doohan served as a reserve driver in 2024 for Alpine, before competing in the final round in Abu Dhabi, and he will race for the Enstone-based outfit in 2025.

After Bortoleto was crowned champion last weekend in Abu Dhabi, Michel spoke about the historic season and the performance of the new F2 car for 2024.

“Well I think it’s been probably the best season we ever had in F2, let’s put it that way,” Michel told media including Motorsport Week.

“I think the level of the grid was absolutely amazing, I think the racing has been great all season long, very impressive races.

“And I think the result of that is that there are going to be quite a lot of drivers coming from Formula 2 to Formula 1 at the end of this season.

“Also the fact that we had two F2 drivers that started in F1 in the middle of the season, Bearman in Jeddah and Franco Colapinto for the rest of the season.

“They did well and they showed everybody that they were ready for F1 which is the main objective of Formula 2.

“So all together yeah I’m very very happy with this season and very happy with the new car.”

F1 teams make ‘big mistake’ by not hiring reigning Formula 2 winners

The 2024 F2 World Champion Bortoleto will race for Sauber next season, the first champion of the series to do so since Oscar Piastri – after he was promoted to F1 in 2023 after winning the junior category in 2021.

The 2023 and 2022 F2 champions Theo Pourchaire and Felipe Drugovich, have yet to secure a full-time seat in F1.

Bortoleto has broken the trend this year and secured a seat in the highest level of the sport which left F2 boss Michel delighted.

He said: “It’s fantastic because that’s what we are here for.

“Bortoleto has been winning F3 as a rookie then he’s winning F2 as a rookie.

“The precedent of this performance are Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri.

“So I think the teams are not making a big mistake when you have a driver that is achieving this kind of result and is [not] going to Formula One.

“What is for sure is the last two seasons the number one problem we had is that there were no seats available in Formula 1 because the Formula One [teams] had not changed driver, except for Logan Sargeant – who is the only one that got to Formula 1.

“And the fact that whether it was Felipe Drugovich or Theo Pourchaire, they achieved their result in at least three years.

“And that is for sure less exciting for the Formula 1 teams than to see Gabriel arriving as a rookie and winning the F2 championship.”

Michel wants F1 teams to take ‘gamble’ on F2 rookies

Antonelli, after his first season in F2, will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes whilst Bearman joins Haas for 2025.

When asked if F1 teams were taking a gamble by promoting the likes of Bearman, Antonelli and Bortoleto, he added: “Well I hope it’s not a gamble.

“I can tell you it’s not a gamble, it’s a very important choice for an F1 team.

“I would say that for a few years, the F1 team[s] have been a little bit difficult into taking F2 drivers because they thought that it was probably better for them to have more experienced drivers in the F1 cars.

“Because a difference of one position in the F1 championship makes quite a lot of money.

“So that was that was probably a quite defensive approach.

“I think what Ollie showed in Jeddah and what Franco showed for the rest of this season as well, has been showing that there are young drivers ready to come.

“Probably much more motivated and much more hungry than the drivers that have been there for quite a long time.

“So I think they’re making a very good decision there when they decide to do that.

“Now let’s see next year what happens but I’m quite confident about it.”

READ MORE: Gabriel Bortoleto: F2 title win in Abu Dhabi ‘the best feeling of my life’

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Gabriel Bortoleto said winning the 2024 Formula 2 World Championship in Abu Dhabi was “one of the best feelings of my life”.

Bortoleto finished second in the Feature race, behind race winner Joshua Durksen, to take the F2 title ahead of his rival Isack Hadjar.

Hadjar had stalled on the grid at the race start, ending his title aspirations in a heartbreaking finish to his F2 campaign.

However, for Bortoleto, the celebrations began for the Sauber Formula 1-bound racing driver as he reflected on his achievement after the race.

“Well, it’s one of the best feelings of my life,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“It has been a very long season, we have been through a lot of things since the beginning where we struggled a lot in Jeddah, Australia.

“Actually in Australia, [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, with our pace, with our work, all the extra hours we did in the sim, all the extra hours we had late nights working in simulations on new things for bringing the car in the right window for the new tracks that were coming up for me and for the team as well.

“My progression through this season has been the best progression I had in my entire life as a driver.

“I’ve grown up so much personally and professionally as well, I’ve learned so much, I met a lot of new people in my life that I’m super grateful to have them as well that helped me to achieve this championship and I’m super proud of it.”

Bortoleto says ‘it’s a privilege’ to join F2 and F3 winners club

After Hadjar’s misfortune, Bortoleto stormed into the lead of the Feature race before losing positions to polesitter Victor Martins and Durksen.

Bortoleto passed Martins towards the end but could not catch the Paraguayan racing driver as he came across the line in second place.

None of that mattered though as Bortoleto had done what he needed to do to become the F2 champion and join an illustrious club of drivers who had won the Formula 3/GP3 series, then the F2 series in back-to-back years – Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri.

The 20-year-old was asked after the race about what it meant to him to replicate the success of the former junior series champions – now F1 race winners.

He added: “Well, they’re all F1 race winners so for me it’s a privilege to be all around these names.

“They are drivers that I’ve always been, let’s say, inspired by when you see them in junior series and they were winning everything.

“Dominating the championships as rookies, surprising the F1 teams, getting their seats in F1, growing up, winning races in F1 and that’s obviously one of my targets is to represent my country in F1 and to win races and hopefully championships one day there.

“So yeah, it’s amazing to be around these names and to be one of the few people that managed to do this achievement.”

F2 champion ‘proud’ of Brazillian heritage

The Invicta Racing driver joins his fellow countryman, Felipe Drugovich, as a Brazillian champion of F2.

Speaking about what it means to represent his country and bring success to Brazil, Bortoleto said: “Well, I’m super proud of being Brazilian because as Brazilians nothing is easy for us.

“We come a long way from here, we go through a lot of things to achieve success, especially in this sport.

“It’s very expensive to Brazil to be able to afford a driver to race in Formula 3 and Formula 2 and one day to go to Formula 1.

“We are not going through a very good moment in the last years in Brazil, we’re trying to get better and better but it’s never easy.

“For me to be able to give them a little bit of happiness in this moment, it’s amazing because if I can be part of their Sunday morning when they wake up and they watch the TV and they see a Brazilian driver representing them in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, all around Europe as well, it’s an amazing feeling for me and for them as well.

“That’s why I wanted to talk in Portuguese after my win because I wanted to give them a message because there is a lot of Brazilians that, because it’s not easy for us in terms of education as well, they don’t speak in English.

“So, I wanted to communicate with them in Portuguese as well to give them the message I was feeling in the moment.” 

The last Brazillian to compete in F1 was Pietro Fittipaldi in the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Bortoleto will be the 33rd driver from Brazil to compete in the sport.

READ MORE: Gabriel Bortoleto takes F2 title as Joshua Durksen wins Abu Dhabi Feature race

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Gabriel Bortoleto wins the Formula 2 championship after his title rival Isack Hadjar stalled at the Abu Dhabi Feature race start.

After his Formula 3 title win last season, Bortoleto was crowned the F2 champion after finishing second behind the Feature race winner Joshua Durksen.

Durksen passed Victor Martins and Bortoleto after the first round of pit stops as he cruised home for his second win of the season.

Richard Verschoor made the alternative strategy work to grab a podium finish in third.

Hadjar failed to get away from the grid and continued on a lap down for the rest of the race.

Martins started from pole position, Bortoleto in second and his championship rival directly behind him in third.

Both of the title contenders went into the race knowing victory in the Feature race would secure the championship for themselves.

If Hadjar finished lower than first, it would be in Bortoleto’s hands; if he finished eighth or lower, it would be over for the Frenchman.

Paul Aron finished third in the Sprint race on Saturday but was disqualified for breaching Article 1.5.2 of the FIA F2 Technical Regulations after the race stewards found that the DRS “actuator had been modified”.

Article 1.5.2 states that “no parts may be modified in any way” therefore he was DSQ and was handed a pit lane start as an additional penalty for the Feature race.

Prema Racing announced before the Feature race that “Kimi Antonelli will not take part in the Feature Race today as he continues his recovery.

“While the team is sad not to race one last time together, everyone at PREMA Racing wishes him a quick return to the track!”

With Antonelli out, Oliver Goethe assumed the last spot inside the top 10 of the starting grid.

Hadjar misfortune hands Bortoleto F2 title

On Lap 1 of 33, Bortoleto stormed into the lead of the Feature race as polesitter Martins dropped down the order after a slow start.

Remarkably, Hadjar’s title dreams were over after the race start as his Campos Racing car had stalled on the grid.

Hadjar voiced his frustrations over the radio with the stall, stating it was “the worst moment of my life”.

The 20-year-old’s misery was compounded after he returned to the pits and made his way back out onto the track to be lapped by Bortoleto.

Elsewhere, Martins had dropped down to sixth place and Kush Maini battled hard with the Sprint race winner Josep Maria Martí.

Maini came out on top as his Invicta Racing team-mate scurried away down the road, building his lead to over a second.

Hadjar unlapped himself and took the fastest lap as he continued to fight for the title.

But he was soon lapped again and out front, the battle for second between Maini, Marti and Durksen continued.

Most of the soft runners pitted including the front runners behind Bortoleto and Marti on Lap 7.

During the pit stops, Maini had an issue dropping him down the order and Durksen fought hard with Martins out of the pits.

Both drivers passed Bortoleto when he pitted on Lap 8 and Hadjar pitted for the medium tyre as well.

Marti led the alternative strategy runners as Bortoleto complained about his brakes not working to his race engineer.

Verschoor passed Amaury Cordeel for second place on the track as he chased down Marti on Lap 17.

At the same time, Hadjar complained that he was in “traffic paradise” as he kept pushing at the back of the pack.

On Lap 18, Verschoor was flying and overtook Marti for the lead on track whilst Durksen held the net race lead.

With just over 10 laps to go, the top six had been caught by the early pitters as Verschoor had built a four-second lead over Marti.

On Lap 23, Martins had closed up to Durksen after he was held up by Max Esterson, who eventually pitted after being overtaken by the ART car as well.

Lap 27 and Marti dashed into the pits to get rid of his old medium tyres but the Spanish driver almost peeled into the wrong pit box.

Marti came out in 10th place and when Verschoor pitted from the lead, he came back out behind Oliver Bearman in sixth.

On Lap 28, Bortoleto was all over the back of Martins as Durksen built a two-second gap over the pair.

Five laps to go and Aron was the final driver of the alternative strategy runners to pit, handing the race lead to Durksen.

Meanwhile, Bortoleto cruised past Martins to take second place on Lap 29, with Durksen just two seconds up the road.

Verschoor was setting multiple purple sectors and took the fastest lap as he passed Dino Beganovic for fifth and then Bearman into fourth place on Lap 30.

On Lap 31, Marti had passed two cars to climb up into eighth place and made swift work of Goethe to take seventh place.

Replays showed that Durksen had gone straight on at the Turn 6 chicane, as the Paraguayan continued to lead on the penultimate lap of the race.

Verschoor was fast closing in on Martins for the last spot on the podium as Marti chased Beganovic for sixth place.

Before the last lap, Martins went wide into the final corner, handing Verschoor third place and a podium finish.

Marti passed Beganovic for sixth and Durksen held onto first place to take his first Feature race win in F2, a fantastic performance by the AIX Racing driver.

Bortoleto took second place as he was officially crowned the F2 Drivers’ Champion of the 2024 season, as he proudly shouted “Let’s go” over the team radio.

Verschoor claimed the final podium position ahead of Martins in fourth, who had started from pole, and Bearman rounded off the top five.

Marti finished in sixth after his alternative strategy, Beganovic seventh, Cordeel eighth, Goethe ninth and Ritomo Miyata claimed the final point with a 10th-placed finish.

Hadjar stayed out after his stall but it wasn’t meant to be for him this year as Bortoleto came out on top in the Abu Dhabi showdown.

In the Constructors’ title fight, the result ensured Invicta would be team champions ahead of Campos by 34.5 points.

READ MORE: Pepe Marti wins Abu Dhabi Sprint race, Gabriel Bortoleto extends F2 championship lead

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Josep Maria Marti was victorious in the Formula 2 Abu Dhabi Sprint race as Gabriel Bortoleto gained on his championship rival Isack Hadjar.

Bortoleto finished in second place after starting from ninth on the grid to take a five-and-a-half point lead in the Drivers’ Standings.

Paul Aron rounded off the top three on the road but was later disqualified, handing third to rookie Dino Beganovic.

Bortoleto increases F2 championship lead

The Prema Racing team announced before the F2 Sprint race that Andrea Kimi Antonelli “has been feeling unwell and, on doctor’s advice, he will not race,” but the team hopes he will be able to compete in tomorrow’s Feature race.

Antonelli was due to start from 11th on the grid, and his absence bumped everyone below him up one place in the starting order.

A frantic start to the race on Lap 1 of 23 saw Marti take the lead starting from fourth on the grid, heading into Turn 1.

Championship contenders Bortoleto and Hadjar were amongst the chaos at the start and the Frenchman suffered front wing damage.

Bortoleto’s team-mate Kush Maini got a great start and dived down the inside of Hadjar and made contact with his rear wheel to the Campos Racing driver’s front end plate.

On the same lap, Ritomo Miyata made contact with Sunday’s polesitter Victor Martins, sending the ART car spinning around as Martins eventually pitted coming back out onto the track in last place.

Miyata received a 10-second time penalty for his actions as Bortoleto gained four places amidst the carnage to take fifth place.

The championship leader kept climbing up the order and eventually overtook Joshua Durksen on Lap 3 for fourth.

The next lap Bortoleto got past Amaury Cordeel for third place before passing Maini for second place as he settled behind the race leader Marti.

Meanwhile, after contact at the start, Hadjar slipped down the order as far as 11th before recovering to ninth place.

On Lap 7, Aron took fifth place off Durksen before Cordeel got past Maini in third place.

Aron quickly overtook Maini for fourth on Lap 8 as Durksen followed him by also getting past Maini into fifth.

On Lap 9 Oliver Bearman, who started in 14th place, overtook Maini for sixth place as Beganovic breezed past at the same time into seventh.

Maini, who now held the final points-scoring position in eighth, found himself ahead of Hadjar again after their first lap contact.

Hadjar overtook Maini for eighth place before attempting to get past Beganovic on Lap 12, but the Swedish driver defended well to hold onto seventh place.

Aron managed to get past his Hitech team-mate Cordeel to occupy the final podium position.

By Lap 15, the order stood at Marti, Bortoleto, Aron, Cordeel, Durksen, Bearman, Beganovic and Hadjar rounding off the top eight.

Marti held the fastest lap and a lead of over three seconds before Bortoleto brought the gap down under three seconds on Lap 17.

With the positions held by the top two in the F2 Drivers’ Standings, the Brazillian racing driver would gain seven points on Hadjar.

This would mean the gap between Hadjar and Bortoleto would stand at seven and a half points heading into the final race of the season.

On Lap 18, Cordeel and Durksen made contact which saw the AIX Racing car drop down the order.

Bearman avoided the collision to take fourth, but the race stewards were investigating the British driver for track limits and he received a five-second time penalty.

Cordeel managed to continue in fifth place before Beganovic overtook him and Hadjar gained a place into seventh.

Miyata now occupied eighth and on Lap 21 Cordeel received a 10-second time penalty, which would bump Hadjar up another place into sixth.

On Lap 22, Hadjar climbed up into sixth ahead of Cordeel, who then fell behind Miyata into eighth place.

On the final lap, Marti still held a comfortable lead over Bortoleto, but the championship leader was set to gain five points on his rival Hadjar.

Marti crossed the line to take the Sprint race victory ahead of Bortoleto in second and Aron rounding off the podium places in third.

Beganovic claimed another spectacular result since his debut in Qatar to take fourth place ahead of Bearman in fifth – Bearman’s time penalty dropped him down the order after finishing fourth on the track.

Hadjar managed to finish in sixth place but had dropped five points back from Bortoleto in the championship standings.

Luke Browning took seventh place due to Miyata and Cordeel’s penalties and Richard Verschoor rounded off the point scorers in eighth place.

Bortoleto lines up from second on the grid for the Feature Race behind Martins, with Hadjar in fourth.

Aron loses P3 after disqualification

After the race, Aron was disqualified from the Sprint race for breaching Article 1.5.2 of the FIA F2 Technical Regulations.

This meant Beganovic inherited third, earning his first podium in F2, as Bearman moved up the order to fourth and Hadjar to fifth – gaining an extra point.

The gap in the standings between Bortoleto and Hadjar was reduced to four and a half points.

Browning moved up to sixth, Verschoor to seventh and Jak Crawford claimed the final point after Aron’s DSQ.

In a document released by the FIA, it read: “The DRS actuator had been modified to extend the length by one millimetre, allowing a wider opening of the DRS wing.

“Article 1.5.2 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship Technical Regulations states that no parts may be modified in any way whatsoever once supplied to the competitor, except where
specifically permitted.

“The standard penalty for a technical infringement is disqualification.

“In this case, however, there is a strong presumption that the team was aware of the non conformity of the part (or at least should have been, if they had exercised due diligence).”

The race stewards determined that because of the “seriousness and nature of the offence” an additional penalty would be “appropriate”, therefore the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver will also start the Feature race from the pit lane.

With Aron now starting from the pit lane, Hadjar will start third behind his title rival Bortoleto in second as Martins lines up from pole position in the Feature race.

For the rest of the top 10, Beganovic gains a place into fourth, Maini fifth, Marti sixth, Miyata seventh, Durksen eighth, Cordeel ninth and Antonelli 10th if he is deemed well enough to race on Sunday.

If not, Oliver Goethe will complete the top 10 for the starting grid.

READ MORE: Victor Martins takes Abu Dhabi F2 pole ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto

The post Pepe Marti wins Abu Dhabi Sprint race, Gabriel Bortoleto extends F2 championship lead appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Gabriel Bortoleto will start ahead of his title rival Isack Hadjar for the Abu Dhabi Feature race after Victor Martins set the fastest lap in Formula 2 Qualifying.

Bortoleto looked the quickest of the championship contenders and Paul Aron, who still has a shot at the F2 title, put his Hitech car in third.

Hadjar will line up from fourth but will start ahead of Bortoleto in the Sprint race on Saturday.

With neither driver taking pole and grabbing the extra points available, the gap remains at just half a point between the duo.

Advantage Bortoleto after F2 Qualifying

Victor Martins was the first to set an early benchmark, going top with a time of 1:36.245 with Paul Aron close behind by 0.317s.

Title contender Bortoleto slotted himself between the duo with a time of 1:36.479s, and Hadjar’s first lap was only good enough for 14th.

Replays showed that multiple drivers were approaching the final corner very slowly, which affected Hadjar’s outlap.

On the drivers’ second attempts, Kimi Antonelli improved to second before Martins improved on his initial time with a 1:36.191s.

Aron momentarily jumped ahead of Bortoleto but the Brazillian driver set the fastest lap to take provisional pole off the ART driver with a 1:36.050s.

His rival Hadjar finally showcased his true pace and jumped up to fifth, exactly four-tenths off Bortoleto, as he exclaimed over the radio that he felt he could claim pole.

The other Invicta Racing car of Kush Maini set a lap time good enough for third behind Martins in second at the halfway mark of the qualifying session.

With 11 minutes left, the drivers piled out of the pits for their final runs.

Martins was the first to improve significantly, going fastest with a lap time of 1:35.745s.

Hadjar leapt ahead of Bortoleto and up into second, 0.128s off pole as he showed his frustrations over the radio, claiming the lap was “not good enough”.

Bortoleto crucially improved to go second, ahead of the Campos Racing car, and only just missed out on provisional pole in Abu Dhabi by 0.035s.

Rafael Villagomez brought out the red flag soon after with four minutes and 19 seconds left as the stewards decided there was enough time left for more laps to be completed.

Bortoleto also felt disappointed after his lap, questioning why his team decided to wait so long to send him out, pointing out they could have been impacted by the red flag.

When the session resumed, it was clear the 20-year-old was heard by his team as they sent him out before Hadjar.

Bortoleto went first and narrowly avoided improving on his fastest lap as most of the drivers struggled to go quicker.

However, Aron did improve to go third, splitting the championship contenders as Hadjar also failed to improve on his final lap.

This meant Martins would start from pole position for the Feature race on Sunday after setting the fastest lap time of 1.35.745s.

Hadjar was left speechless after he missed out on pole and despite qualifying ahead of his title rival, Bortoleto complained about being too slow in the final corner.

Dino Beganovic impressed yet again, setting a lap time good enough for fifth behind Hadjar.

Maini ended up in sixth and Pepe Marti in seventh, crucial positions for their respective teams – Campos and Invicta.

Ritomo Miyata finished in eighth, Joshua Durksen in ninth and Amaury Cordeel rounded off the top 10.

Cordell will therefore start Saturday’s Sprint race from pole position ahead of Durksen on the front row.

After the session, Maini was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford.

This bumps him down the starting order to eighth for the Sprint race after he was set to start from fifth place.

Beganovic, Hadjar and Aron all move up one place to fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

READ MORE: Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto prepare for F2 title showdown

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Formula 2 Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto is half a point ahead of Isack Hadjar heading into this weekend’s title decider in Abu Dhabi as the duo prepare for a title showdown.

Bortoleto led the closing laps of the Feature race in Qatar, but a five-second timed penalty for crossing the line at the pit entry bumped him down to third, behind his title rival Hadjar.

Paul Aron inherited the win, giving him a glimmer of hope in the championship fight, but the battle remains mostly between Formula 1-bound Bortoleto and Hadjar.

Bortoleto: ‘I’m ready to have this fight’

Hadjar has four wins this season against Bortoleto’s two victories – the Campos Racing driver won the Feature race at Melbourne, Imola, Silverstone and Spa.

After the Frenchman’s latest victory in Belgium, he held a 36-point lead over his Brazillian rival, but he failed to score in Monza or Baku as Bortoleto closed the gap down and took the championship lead heading into Qatar.

The crucial moment was the Brazilian racing driver’s last to first drive at the Italian Grand Prix in the Feature race.

After an impressive season, Bortoleto is set to race in F1 next year with Sauber, but the 20-year-old insisted the championship means just as much to him as Hadjar, despite having his future in F1 secured.

“I mean, I’m ready to fight as hard as I need to, there is no limit,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“Whatever game he wants to play, I’m ready to do that.

“I don’t care if I had or not my seat, my approach would have been the same to be honest.

“It doesn’t change the fact that I’m already signed in F1, that I’m going to race less aggressive or more aggressive or whatever.

“I’m ready to have this fight, It’s going to be fun and enjoyable for sure this weekend.

“It has been a long season so far, we have been playing fair to each other and I believe really that it’s going to be the same this last round.”

Hadjar reflects on dealing with pressure of F2 championship

The Red Bull junior’s 2024 F2 campaign started off poorly after two DNFs in the opening two rounds of the season.

“I remember after Jeddah when I had like five points on the board and Zane (Maloney) had probably 60 and I knew this season was my last shot for Formula 1,” he said.

“I had this pressure of having to deliver and clearly, after round two it was how am I even going to start being on the podium and scoring points when I literally had all of the pace in the world.

“But these failures and technical issues I had were not allowing me to unlock the podiums and momentum.

“I always kept my head down and from Melbourne, I had a really strong run, never give up, basically.

Fast forward to Qatar, the 20-year-old produces a composed display to take vital points off his championship contender, as Hadjar explained his thoughts on the performance.

“Sunday was critical for me somehow to finish ahead of him.

“I started on the wrong foot and saw my title chances fall a bit apart after the start of the race but luckily, our strategy really paid off.

“We bet on that safety car and he got the penalty as well, It was a tense moment that we dealt with perfectly.”

Hadjar isn’t feeling the heat though, despite trailing his rival by a mere half a point, as he insisted he is going to focus on enjoying the final race of the year.

“I think it’s the weekend I’m going to enjoy the most, I feel like I’ve done all of the hard work already.

“Now, I know the process and how it works, so I’m not going to change anything.

“I really feel much less pressure than at the start of the season.

“I’m just going to enjoy myself and I really want to bring the title to Campos, so I think it’ll be the most enjoyable weekend so far.”

Bortoleto ready to make ‘history’ in final F2 round

The Invicta Racing driver also had a difficult start to the year with three retirements in a row, starting with a DNF in Jeddah’s Feature race before a double retirement in Melbourne.

Speaking about his opening performances in the campaign, he added: “Yeah, I think the beginning of the season was very tough for me.

“I had two qualifiers that I didn’t perform as I should, there was Jeddah and Melbourne.

“I did some mistakes, I also had a crash at the beginning of the year with Hadjar in Melbourne.

“Zero points for two weekends in a row, basically, that was very bad and that was a difficult moment in the season, especially when you know you have a good car able to fight for a championship.

“You never want to let points escape, you want to maximise everything, to go over that moment was very tough but we did it.

“I went over it and became a better driver after that, 100%”.

After Melbourne’s DNF, Bortoleto only finished outside of the points twice in 20 races, showcasing real consistency in his bid for the F2 title.

“Honestly, my consistency helped me to get to the point where I am in the championship now fighting for the title, especially after a tough beginning of the season, to get to where we are now in terms of points and everything wasn’t easy,” he said.

“We had a lot of races in a row that we scored points and even when they had tough weekends, we still maximized everything.

“I think it’s going to be tough for me and Isack, to race knowing that we need to basically beat each other.

“But it’s going to be very cool and we’re going to make history in F2.

READ MORE: Paul Aron inherits Qatar F2 Feature win as penalty denies Gabriel Bortoleto

The post Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto prepare for F2 title showdown appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Gabriel Bortoleto has revealed that he pushed Sauber to provide him with a race seat in Formula 1 in 2025 to avoid having to endure an entire season on the sidelines.

Sauber announced last week that Bortoleto will make the step up to F1 next season to partner Nico Hulkenberg at the team which will transition into Audi come 2026.

Bortoleto was long recognised as an option to bag the second Sauber drive amid an impressive rookie campaign in Formula 2 which sees him lead the championship.

“It feels amazing,” Bortoleto told the official F1 channel. “It’s like a dream.

“Since I was very young I started racing with a dream to reach F1 one day and now, being able to sign this contract and to be on the grid in ’25, I’m very grateful.”

Sauber deliberated over Bortoleto’s F1 debut

Bortoleto has divulged that discussions with Sauber began several months ago as the team considered whether to hand him his debut next season or wait until 2026.

The Brazilian has admitted that he is relieved to have secured a permanent drive next season in order to be able to get up to speed prior to the regulations being reset.

“We have been talking for a couple of months already, I believe, about what was going to happen,” he disclosed.

“If it was going to happen in ’26 or in ’25,” he explained. “But I think the ’25 news came not so long ago.

“It feels very good, because I didn’t want to stay one year without driving.

“Now, being able to continue the momentum of driving – F3, F2 and now going to F1 next year – I think it’s the best way to do it.”

Piastri hoped Bortoleto would avoid F1 wait

Oscar Piastri, who experienced a season without racing once he won F2 in 2021, expressed his hope that Bortoleto would not be resigned to the same fate as he was.

“I think he’s been doing a very impressive job,” Piastri said at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix before the news broke.

“Obviously winning F3 as a rookie last year and now leading the championship in F2.

“So yeah, I think from my point of view, when you’re achieving those kind of results, you deserve to be in F1.

“And I have the personal experience of the pain of not getting a seat. So for his sake, I hope he doesn’t have to go through that.

“I think he’s been doing a very good job. Yeah, if he’s doing it on merit, then I think he deserves a place in F1.”

READ MORE – Sauber reveals expense to prise Gabriel Bortoleto from McLaren

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