"What the f**k is Lewis Hamilton doing? He's always in the middle of the track": Gabriel Bortoleto lashes out at Ferrari driver

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend has the nooks and crannies of being a Sprint race weekend, as it has already caused chaos during the sole practice session, while Lewis Hamilton was lambasted by Gabriel Bortoleto for his driving ethics. The Brazilian was frustrated by the Briton going slowly through a high-risk zone on the track, leading him to have an outburst over the radio.

Sauber is coming off a great result in Great Britain and hopes to resurge its way into the F1 midfield permanently, not on a one-off basis. Moreover, with the Belgian race weekend's added jab of the Sprint race, teams have rushed to get their drivers out on track to have their cars ready for the Sprint qualifying later in the day.

Ferrari brought in a new rear-suspension upgrade and had both of its cars out on track for a major chunk of the session. This meant that the prancing horses had been out on track to gather crucial data for the rest of the weekend, which increased their probability of having an altercation with another car.

Moreover, in the first half of FP1, Hamilton and Bortoleto had an incident. The two had completed their push laps and were on their slow laps, conceding position to rivals who were going flat out.

However, approaching the Eau Rouge and Raidillon section, the Ferrari driver stayed in the middle of the track, and Bortoleto was just behind him, who was followed by Charles Leclerc. This led to an awkward, yet dangerous situation, where the fast-going Monegasque could have collided with the slow-moving cars exiting due to the blind crest.

While the 27-year-old quickly jumped on board the radio to share how the whole situation was dangerous, Gabriel Bortoleto was stirred up by the ordeal, and criticized Lewis Hamilton for the incident over the radio:

"Mate what the f**k is [Lewis] Hamilton doing!? He is always in the middle of the track."

Despite the situation, all three cars remained unscathed.

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Lewis Hamilton consoles Gabriel Bortoleto after his torrid Brazilian GP result

Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium race weekend - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto have not had many moments on track together, while off track, the two have not often been snapped together, but they have shared a few chats up and down.

After the British GP, where the Brazilian retired, in a race where the other Sauber driver finished on the podium, Hamilton ventured over to the 20-year-old to console him. Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley shared, via Motorsport Week:

"I feel for Gabriel [Bortoleto] – it’s easy to forget that it’s his first season in Formula One and Lewis had some kind words for him after the race just to reassure him. Gabriel will learn from this; he’ll get stronger."

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton would be hoping to continue his streak at the Belgian GP of finishing inside the top-4 at the race whenever he has taken the checkered flag.