Video14 December 2024

Gabriel Bortoleto had a whirlwind few days at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, first beating Red Bull-backed rival Isack Hadjar to the Formula 2 title and then making his maiden F1 test appearance with Kick Sauber, who recently signed the young Brazilian for the 2025 season. F1.com was present to follow one of the sport’s newest stars as he got his first proper taste of life in the top echelon…

0730 – Arriving at the track

It’s a typically pleasant start to the day in the Abu Dhabi desert, with already mild temperatures and the glorious orange glow from the sunrise covering a Yas Marina Circuit that was illuminated by hundreds of powerful floodlights and bright neon panels overnight.

F1.com has been in the paddock for around an hour, flanked by some rather tired looking mechanics, engineers and other team members who had reached their final on-track task of the year – the end-of-term feeling also bringing plenty of smiles and jokes.

As the start of the test edges closer, the men and women from the teams up and down the pit lane are gradually joined by the drivers set to pilot their cars, including highly rated rookie Bortoleto, who strolls through the gates for his big day at half past seven.

With 90 minutes before the track goes green, Bortoleto heads to the far end of the paddock – and the Sauber hospitality unit – for a quick, light breakfast, where he catches up with Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer Mattia Binotto.

Bortoleto shared a few words with Binotto before heading out on track in Abu Dhabi

0800 – Pre-test meetings

While Nico Hulkenberg was signed before Binotto’s arrival in the summer, the Italian made the call to adopt an all-new line-up for the 2025 season, parting ways with both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in favour of F2 champion-elect Bortoleto.

It means that the drivers – even if Hulkenberg remembers a few employees from his previous, short stint at Hinwil back in 2013 – and Sauber’s trackside crew have plenty of work ahead to get to know each other, build effective relationships and become a slick operation.

Other youngsters involved in the post-season test have already carried out Testing of Previous Cars days or taken part in Free Practice 1 sessions with their affiliated teams, but Bortoleto has never before driven a Sauber.

Following Bortoleto’s chat with Binotto, the 20-year-old wastes no time as he joins new team mate Hulkenberg in the engineering room to one side of Sauber’s hospitality unit for a briefing and full rundown of the planned testing programme.