“I will put him in the wall next time”: Fernando Alonso’s client Gabriel Bortoleto’s furious team radio about fellow F1 rookie

Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was furious at Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli after he crashed into the wall at the start of the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix. Bortoleto demanded a penalty for Antonelli, citing a dangerous overtaking move, and even passed a threatening comment on the radio.

Bortoleto made his F1 debut this year for Sauber. He joined his mentor Fernando Alonso, who races for Aston Martin, on the grid. Interestingly, the rookie is managed by Alonso's talent management company, A14 Management.

During a time of crisis in his junior days, Alonso signed Bortoleto in 2023, and the rookie delivered immediate results by winning the F3 title that year, followed by the F2 championship win in 2024.

Meanwhile, Alonso's junior prodigy was involved in a heated incident with Antonelli at lap 1 of the Monaco GP. Gabriel Bortoleto had overtaken Antonelli at the hairpin, but the latter wanted to fight back. He dived down the inside of Bortoleto at a tight corner. The Brazilian didn’t expect the move and had to steer away, hitting the wall to avoid crashing into Antonelli.

Bortoleto was furious with the rookie's move and deemed it dangerous and desperate. He demanded a penalty, but FIA stewards let the Mercedes driver off the hook. This enraged Bortoleto even more as he went off on team radio and said (via Autosport):

"Did he get a penalty for what he did? Okay, I will put him in the wall next time."

His engineer, meanwhile, tried to calm him down, saying they should focus on doing their best with what they had left in the race. As a result of the crash, Gabriel Bortoleto damaged his front wing and went down to the pits for a replacement.

This cost him valuable time and positions as he finished the race at P14. In a post-race interview, Gabriel Bortoleto stood by his take and accused Antonelli of divebombing him. He added that he had committed to the corner and expected the Mercedes rookie to give him room, but when the latter didn't, the Sauber driver had no choice but to hit the wall.

Bortoleto was disappointed to have lost a five-position advantage and called the incident a 'shame.'

---

Kimi Antonelli defends his aggressive move against Gabriel Bortoleto

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli at F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Source: Getty

After Gabriel Bortoleto said his piece, Kimi Antonelli defended his aggressive overtaking move. He argued that he tried to give as much space as possible to the Sauber rookie and avoided a collision.

Talking to Planet F1, the Mercedes driver said,

“It was an aggressive move, but at the end of the day, I didn’t touch him. And also at the apex. Of course, you don’t want to see him in the wall, and my intention was not to put him in the wall. But at the end of the day, I didn’t touch him, and I tried my best to give him as much space as possible. But, of course, you know, Monaco is very tight, and it can happen."

Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli had a disappointing outing as he finished P18. He had a crash in Q1 of the qualifying session, and during the race, he was being held up by the drivers ahead. Hence, Antonelli had no opportunities to recover and dropped to P18.