Alonso praises Bortoleto’s outstanding « » performance in Austria

Fernando Alonso has heaped praise on Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber’s rookie driver, after the Brazilian scored his very first points in Formula 1 during the Austrian Grand Prix. The two men engaged in a lively duel in the final laps at the Spielberg circuit.

A beautiful battle at the end of the race

As Fernando Alonso was heading towards a solid 7th place, Gabriel Bortoleto – who is part of the Spanish driver’s career management program – came back very strong towards the end of the race, almost overtaking in the very last lap.

Both had opted for a one-stop strategy—a rarity in Austria—but with tires 16 laps fresher, Gabriel Bortoleto seemed to have the advantage. However, Fernando Alonso, the two-time world champion, used all his experience to contain his protégé.

A stroke of luck also came to assist the Spaniard: the comeback of the race winner, Lando Norris, forced both drivers to let the McLaren through, allowing Fernando Alonso to benefit from DRS and cross the line behind the Briton, which shortened their race by one lap.

Fernando Alonso congratulates the young Brazilian

Thanks to this favorable situation, Fernando Alonso maintained his 7th place. But more than his own performance, it was Gabriel Bortoleto’s success that moved him: upon arrival, he rushed to the Brazilian to embrace him in Parc Fermé.

« Incredible, I am happy for him », declared the Spaniard about Gabriel Bortoleto’s first points.

« Gabi has been exceptional all season, but for one reason or another, it’s [Nico] Hülkenberg who was scoring points on Sunday. I think he deserved to score them earlier, but I hope this is just the start of a long series. The first points in F1 always have a special flavor. »

Regarding his own race, Fernando Alonso praised his team’s strategic choices, which dared to make the gamble of only one stop despite very high degradation due to temperatures exceeding 50°C on the track:

« It was intense. The first key point was the strategy. The team was right, the one-stop was the best option today. I wasn’t faster than the Kick Sauber or the Haas, but I still finished ahead. »

The pit stop was good, well-timed. And in the end, I got a bit lucky: when Gabi came back with a better pace, Norris arrived behind us with blue flags. So Gabi couldn’t attack me. And since we saw the checkered flag right after letting Norris through, it also shortened the race by one lap. In short, everything combined perfectly, he says.

On his side, Lance Stroll did not score points, finishing 14th. Aston Martin remains 8th in the championship, but thanks to Fernando Alonso’s points, the team is now just one point behind Haas before Silverstone.