Gabriel Bortoleto had a Dutch GP full of emotions this Sunday (23) in Formula 1. The driver started ninth, had problems at the beginning, dropped to the back of the pack, and finished the race in 13th.
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For this last Formula 1 visit to the Netherlands, Gabriel had a positive qualifying and started from ninth place. The Brazilian lined up on the fifth row alongside Arvid Lindblad, opting for the soft tire at the start of the race.
Before the start, heavy rain fell on the circuit, making the asphalt conditions quite tricky. Some parts of the track were dry, while others were wet.
On the thermometer, as throughout the weekend, the weather was quite cold indicating 17ºC, while the asphalt was at 30C. Humidity was around 62%.
Start authorized and with Audi’s start problems, the Brazilian dropped to 13th place, losing four positions.
And right on the second lap, a setback for Bortoleto: Max Verstappen was involved in a very serious accident on the main straight, hitting the safety wall hard and destroying his RB22. As a result, the race had to be stopped with a red flag.
Meanwhile, Gabriel was behind and also spun alone, but in an independent incident. Fortunately, the Brazilian avoided any collision and remains in the race, now in 18th.
After more than 30 minutes of race interruption, the race was finally going to restart. Bortoleto was going to line up in 15th position and all competitors had to do two formation laps – when heading to the grid, Oliver Bearman had a problem and his Haas stopped on the track.
Second start authorized in the Netherlands and the Audi driver lost a position but managed to return to 15th. Meanwhile, Nico Hülkenberg appeared in ninth place.
On the next lap, Bortoleto managed to leave Fernando Alonso behind, taking 14th place and now 1.6 seconds behind Estevan Ocon, 13th. Shortly after, he also gained the position of Franco Colapinto, who would have to serve a drive-through penalty.
On lap 12, the driver of car #5 went to the pits, dropping to 20th place. The total pit stop lasted 18 seconds with the tire change taking just over 3 seconds – at this moment, he put on the medium compound.
After changing tires, the Brazilian was running at a good pace, lapping at the same time as the fourth and fifth place drivers. On lap 16, he managed to leave the Alpine Argentine behind to take 18th place, now starting the chase on Sergio Pérez – Lance Stroll went to the pits and dropped to last.
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In a series of stops and overtakes, Gabriel was in 15th place with the mission to now leave Yuki Tsunoda behind, being 1.9 seconds behind the Japanese. Meanwhile, Hülkenberg was 13th.
On lap 33, the driver was in 13th place and was 1 second behind Pierre Gasly, 12th. To get into the points zone, the Brazilian would need to make up about 11 seconds to place himself tenth.
Three laps later, the Audi driver went to the pits again, stopping for the third time and returning in 16th, losing only three positions. At this moment, he was on hard tires and was 7.7 seconds behind Stroll, 15th.
In 13th after other drivers stopped, Gabriel began to close the gap on Alexander Albon, the driver ahead of him. The competitor was 4.2 seconds behind the Williams driver and was increasingly reducing the disadvantage.
On the radio, the Brazilian was asking Audi for updates, showing some impatience at being ‘in the dark’, without messages.
Another twist in the race: Esteban Ocon stopped on the track and caused a virtual safety car. In this, Bortoleto took the opportunity to go to the pits and put on soft tires, appearing in 13th place.
Race restarted on lap 57 and Bortoleto did not ease off the accelerator and was closing the gap on Arvid Lindblad, 12th.
In the final laps, Gabriel got close to the rear of Lindblad but could not get close enough to take the position from the Racing Bulls driver.
With two laps to the checkered flag, a virtual safety car due to debris on the track between turns 9 and 10 – a collision between the Williams teammates.
Race ended and Bortoleto finished in 13th place in a complicated and very tumultuous race for the Brazilian competitor.
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