Brazilian patience requested as excitement engulfs ‘potential’ F1 champion

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."