Wheatley hails Bortoleto as 'the real deal' with Sauber preparing for Audi transition

Gabriel Bortoleto has been dubbed “the real deal” by Sauber Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley after showing consistent improvement across his rookie Formula 1 season.

Bortoleto arrived in F1 having won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, something achieved previously by Oscar Piastri, while George Russell and Charles Leclerc managed the feat across GP3 and F2.

Despite Sauber coming off the back of a difficult 2024 season, where the team scored just four points and finished last in the standings, results have shown a steady improvement, with Bortoleto scoring points in three of the four races prior to the summer break, including a sixth-place finish in Hungary.

“Gabriel has a work ethic that’s unbelievable,” Wheatley told Sky Sports F1 after FP3 in Zandvoort, where Bortoleto would go on to take 15th place. “There’s a thirst for knowledge. Every single area where he can get performance out of the car, he’s trying to get performance out of the car.

“Plus, there’s stability on the other side of the engineering office, so he’s getting guidance on what he should be worried about and what he shouldn’t be worried about.

“He’s in the factory, he’s doing the simulator sessions, he’s asking where the performance is… He’s the real deal.”

Keen to highlight the strength of Sauber’s driver pairing as a whole, Wheatley pointed to how Nico Hulkenberg’s abilities have helped with Bortoleto’s development path.

He added: “It’s incredibly strong, and I’m very, very happy with what we have. With Nico, these expertise, this experience, his proven speed and calmness in these situations, he’s been there and done that, and Gabriel is learning from that.”

The 2026 season will see the pressure to perform ramp up exponentially as the team becomes Audi. Preparing for this transition, Wheatley has spent much of his first season in charge laying the foundations for future success, with the current momentum a key factor.

“I think the target, as I’ve been talking about for a while now, is continuous improvement – operating at a higher level and a more efficient level than we are at the moment, making good decisions more regularly, and putting in more consistent performances,” he said.

“It’s about that momentum, and carrying that momentum into next year is so important.

“When we open the garage doors next year, we’re going to be Audi. It’s the most important, most exciting thing in sport at the moment, I think – not just in Formula 1.

“I’m excited about it and of course, we just want to carry that momentum into next year.”