Gabriel Bortoleto came close to scoring his first points in a Sprint race in Formula 1. In this Saturday’s (22) Dutch GP race, the driver finished in ninth place, the same position he started from, but praised his performance.
Read more F1: Bortoleto is ninth and just misses out on points in the Sprint race of the Dutch GP
In Zandvoort, the race lasted 24 laps and during the early part, the Brazilian got close to Pierre Gasly, who was eighth. However, approaching the checkered flag, the Frenchman, with an updated car and on new tires, pulled away and left no chance for the Audi driver.
In the end, Gabriel finished in the top 10, but only the top eight score points in the Sprint, with the driver just on the edge but happy with the performance. “The start is very positive, I was happy that today we managed to make a good start,” he told SporTV after the race.
Read more Check the F1 2026 championship standings after the Sprint at the Dutch GP
“I even got close to the cars in front, I think we have made some steps in the right direction. If we can maintain this starting pace that we have had this weekend, I would be very happy. So, anyway, I think it was a good sprint, we showed good pace,” he continued.
“The car in front, which was Pierre, he was on a new tire, so we were on used tires. So it’s already good to be able to keep up with him throughout the race, because when we are in equal situations I believe we will have a bit more pace,” he concluded.
Read more F1: Check out the full results of the Sprint of the 2026 Dutch GP
