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During this past weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto got into close quarters at the mid-point of the race. The young driver veered right suddenly during a battle with another driver, not noticing that Alonso was coming up behind him, resulting in contact between them.
Speaking after the race, Bortoleto explained that he never saw the Spaniard when he turned right, but was instead attempting to fight for a position he lost. The rookie also discussed how the weekend went, overall finding it to be an educational experience.
The driver was accused by Fernando Alonso, who also happens to be Bortoleto's manager, of moving underbraking, but as the Brazilian explains, he was just trying to make the most of the opening that was created when Liam Lawson overtook him for P15 during lap 25.
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“I didn’t see him. I didn’t know that he was actually there."
“I knew there was another guy and just a guy behind me, and as soon as the guy behind me overtook, I tried to open the corner and Fernando was there.”
Reflecting on the overall weekend, Gabriel Bortoleto spoke about his experience racing in Jeddah, which included the Kick Sauber team going with his decision on how he would be racing.
“It was a big learning and also affected our tyre choice a lot for the race and Quali. We went with a strategy, my decision, to be quite aggressive in Quali because I hadn’t had many laps. I made my mistake in Quali, shame, and then didn’t have too many tyres in the race," he said [via F1].
Bortoleto qualified in P20 for the race, and after the checkered flag was waved, he was in P18, which was also last place, given the retirements of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly.
Gabriel Bortoleto explains what he needs before heading to the Miami GP
Speaking after the race in Jeddah, which ended with Gabriel Bortoleto walking away from another Grand Prix having scored no points, the 20-year-old driver revealed his plans on resetting his energies, getting some rest and relaxation, and refreshing his mindset before he and the rest of the grid heads to Miami for the next Grand Prix weekend.
“I need a week off just to relax and go home and rest. I need some rest, I need to recover, to reset my energies and get back to Miami in a better place than I am right now,” he said [via F1].
Apart from his DNF in the season-opener of Australia, Gabriel Bortoleto's lowest result came in Japan, when he crossed the finish line to take 19th place. This past weekend marked a consecutive 18th-place finish for the rookie, having scored the same result the previous weekend in Bahrain. His highest finish so far was in China, when he finished the race in P14.
He currently sits last in the drivers' standings, having scored no points so far.
