"Super Satisfied": Fernando Alonso's protege Gabriel Bortoleto opens up on going into the summer break with a brilliant result in Hungary

Gabriel Bortoleto described his sixth-place finish at the 2025 Hungarian GP as extremely satisfying, stressing it was earned on pure performance rather than incidents that shuffled the order. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Sauber rookie felt the result was a true reflection of their pace.

Heading into the summer break, Bortoleto capped off the final double-header with a ninth place in Belgium and sixth in Hungary. At the Hungaroring, he felt he maximized the car’s potential despite Aston Martin’s speed, with a decisive overtake on Lance Stroll proving crucial in securing the result ahead of both Silverstone cars.

When asked by Sportskeeda how satisfying the result was going into summer break, Gabriel Bortoleto replied:

“Super satisfied, I mean, I couldn't be more satisfied than that, because I think that's the real result we can achieve. More than this, it's, you know, if we luck and if someone crashes or something happens, I think we really maximize the car we had today, or even did better, because I overtook Lance at the first l and we know the Astons had a very good pace this weekend.”

Sauber’s 2025 campaign has had its strongest first half of a season in two decades. Nico Hülkenberg’s podium in Silverstone brought them within touching distance of Williams in the Constructors’ standings, but a strong run from Aston Martin has since pushed them down to seventh by a single point.

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Gabriel Bortoleto feels grateful to be fighting world champions in his rookie season

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2025 - Source: Getty

Gabriel Bortoleto described the opportunity to battle world champions Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen in his rookie season at the Hungarian Grand Prix as a privilege. Lining up on the grid between the two champions was an exciting moment for him, and he expressed gratitude for the race’s outcome. The Brazilian rookie finished ahead of Verstappen, who placed ninth, and just behind his mentor Alonso, who secured fifth.

When asked about the scenario where he had to battle two world champions on the grid, Gabriel Bortoleto said:

“Yeah, you know, two time world champ, four time world champ and I'm in the middle and you know it was just something amazing that I'm so glad to experience already my rookie season and be fighting against these guys. It's just amazing. And honestly, I'm so happy it was a great race and we did everything we could.”

Gabriel Bortoleto has scored 14 points so far for Sauber, while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg has collected 37. Bortoleto sits 17th in the drivers’ standings, with Sauber seventh in the constructors’ table on 51 points, just one behind Aston Martin and 19 adrift of Williams, who lead the midfield battle in fifth place.