Former F1 driver and Season 3 Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi has urged Brazil to be patient with Gabriel Bortoleto, who he believes could be a future world champion. Bortoleto is rated very highly after winning the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in back-to-back seasons, warranting a move to Stake on a multi-year deal. The Brazilian driver will remain with the team next year as it completes its transition into Audi for when the new power unit regulations are introduced. There is a lot of expectation on Bortoleto from his home supporters, to a similar level Franco Colapinto experienced from Argentina last year after he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams. "That was quite crazy, what happened with Franco," Bortoleto told media including RacingNews365 . "I could see sometimes a lot of fans outside his team, waiting for him and queuing. "And I think Brazilians are not different. They are very warm people, and they have been waiting a long time for a Brazilian F1 driver after, seven or eight years since Felipe left. "There’s going to be a lot of expectations from fans from Brazil, and hopefully I will see them at a lot of races, supporting me and the team."
Huge Bortoleto 'talent'
Remarkably, Felipe Massa was the last full-time Brazilian F1 driver, which has heightened the pressure on Bortoleto. However, what goes against the 20-year-old is the likelihood that he will be in an uncompetitive car for his debut season. Stake struggled throughout the 2024 campaign and failed to score a single point, an unwanted feat it will want to avoid this year with Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Di Grassi is a huge fan of Bortoleto and believes he has huge potential, but has urged Brazil to be patient in his rookie year. "Yeah, I think he's a great talent," Di Grassi told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. "But I think overall, the excitement of Brazilians, they need to be a little bit contained, because he will not have the car, at least, I would say, in the first year of his contract. "Maybe he can see his team-mate, maybe he can do a little bit here and there, but the car will not be competitive in a way that people could cheer. So I'm very excited. I think he's a great talent. "I think he has the potential to be world champion one day, but it will take time, so Brazil needs to be a bit patient with him as well. "He needs to understand and get mature enough to prove that he can continue to learn and then jump into a race winning car, and then he will fight to be the champion."
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