‘I always knew I was capable of it’ – Bortoleto delighted with first F1 points in Austria amid Alonso battle

Gabriel Bortoleto claimed his maiden points in F1 at the Austrian Grand Prix, rounding off Kick Sauber’s strongest weekend yet as Nico Hulkenberg also finished in the top 10.

The Red Bull Ring brought the Brazilian success in his junior career, including his first F2 victory last season, and those previous performances carried forward into the Grand Prix as he achieved his best F1 result so far.

After showing improved pace throughout practice, the 20-year-old progressed to the final part of Qualifying for the first time this year, eventually netting P8 on the grid and beating the likes of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

He remained in that position when the chequered flag fell, negotiating two pit stops and a meaningful on-track battle with Fernando Alonso, who is coincidentally a member of his management team and mentored him through his stints in F3 and F2.

“I feel like we had a very intense battle – probably the most intense battle I have had in F1 so far,” Bortoleto said after the race on the late fight with Alonso. “Outside, inside, and then playing with the blue flags as well with [Lando] Norris and then Oscar [Piastri].

“It has been a crazy one, you know? Nothing to say, just a great battle and I’m glad that I’ve been able to fight with Fernando until the end of the race for these points.

“We did a great job on the pit stops, we did a great job with the strategy. I feel like we did everything that was in our hands. I just hope that we can keep this up – a weekend like this repeating every single weekend… I think we can score more points in the season and have great results.”

Sauber elected to swap Hulkenberg and Bortoleto after the first round of pit stops, allowing the rookie to chase down a bigger points haul. While the gap to Alonso started at nine seconds, he rapidly closed it down and embarked on a multi-lap battle with his mentor.

The Spaniard put up an impressive defence, especially with the added challenge of allowing frontrunners Norris and Piastri to pass under blue flags, and held onto P7. He was later spotted congratulating Bortoleto on his mighty drive to take four points.

Asked whether it was a relief to finally score, Bortoleto said: “I always knew I was capable of it. I’m not in Formula 1 for a random reason. It’s just good to be in the points finally – more for the team than for myself because they really deserve to have points and everything.

“For myself, I’m here because I want to win one day. I’m not going to be happy because I scored a few points, you know? But for sure it’s already an achievement. We should be happy with every small achievement and we are going in the right direction to achieve our bigger dream, which will one day be winning championships.”

It was Sauber’s most successful weekend yet in 2025 as Hulkenberg bounced back from starting last on the grid to gain 11 positions and secure another two points, bringing the team into a close fight with Aston Martin and Haas in the team standings.

“Obviously got a bit of help from the race circumstances – a few cars dropping out – but nevertheless, I think it was a solid race from us,” Hulkenberg said.

“Very positive obviously, double points. From last, I think that’s pretty decent and I’m not sure I could have asked for much more today from there.

“Since Barcelona there’s been a change of momentum and I think we have much more of a grip now on the car and on the season. We seem to be performing much better, especially in the race stints, which is obviously very encouraging and where we wanted to be at the start of the season.

"We will try to continue this – it’s never easy, we always have to work hard but I’m happy and optimistic for now.”