Fans gobsmacked at Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto's pictures 8 years apart

F1 fans were left shocked at Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto's pictures eight years apart posted on social media. The four-time F1 world champion is heading into his 10th season at the pinnacle of motorsport after making his debut with Toro Rosso in 2015.

Despite just being 27, the Dutch driver was seen mentoring the rookies of the 2025 season during the filming day ahead of F1 Testing in Bahrain. Bortoleto, who will drive alongside Nico Hulkenberg in Sauber, won the F2 and F3 titles in consecutive seasons before making his way to the F1 grid.

On Sunday, March 2, F1's official Instagram handle posted an image of Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto eight years apart. The four-time champion first met the Brazilian as a young go-karter in 2017.

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to the two photos in the comments section of the post. They wrote:

"Must be a surreal experience," a fan wondered.

"cute fact: Max calls Gabi bubbles," another claimed.

"Passing the crown," one fan remarked.

"They are great friends, have been for a while."

"Bortoleto to Red Bull in 2026," a user speculated.

"Schumi to Max, Max to Bortoleto."

Reactions to Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto...Credits-Instagram

Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto share a friendly dynamic off the track as well, with the latter often seen participating in sim racing sessions with the Red Bull driver on Twitch.

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F1 rookie opens up on his admiration for Max Verstappen

Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto expressed his admiration of Max Verstappen among the current crop of F1 drivers, especially highlighting the Dutchman's prowess over one lap.

Speaking on an episode of the F1 Nation Podcast in November last year, Bortoleto said (as quoted by Motorsport.com):

"I really like how Max drives, in the sense of... I really admire his quali laps and how much he extracts of the car in these laps, the way he drives and races. I've always admired how Max drives - since I was very young because I was part of a team in go-karts that he grew up with."

Recalling how his go-karting team would bring up anecdotes about the four-time F1 champion, Bortoleto added:

"So they always told me stories about him, and I was always like, 'OK, what would Max do in this situation?' I wanted always to be a bit like him because he won every single thing he did in junior series."

However, the F1 rookie claimed that fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna was his racing hero, highlighting his legendary compatriot's racing legacy.

While 2025 is unlikely to feature Bortoleto and Verstappen in a wheel-to-wheel tussle against each other, the young Brazilian's racing record makes him a strong favorite to emerge as one of the future stars on the F1 grid.