Gabriel Bortoleto faced a complicated day at the Formula 1 Japanese GP. After starting from ninth this Sunday (29) in Suzuka, the Brazilian was unable to maintain the pace, faced problems and finished outside the points zone.
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As soon as the lights went out at the Japanese circuit, the competitor ended up dropping numerous positions and appeared in 15th. During the race, he managed to fight back and after the safety car, he even placed himself once again among the top ten.
However, with grip problems, he crossed the finish line only in 13th – his teammate Nico Hülkenberg was 11th. Taking stock of the Formula 1 race, he recognized that the start was a point that harmed the rest of the competition in Japan.
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“Overall, the race was quite reasonable: the Safety Car favored us, as I had decided to stay on track longer to avoid getting stuck behind other cars with harder tires; our pace wasn’t bad, although I had some difficulties on the straights. What affected us most today, unfortunately, was the start: we’ve known since the first race of the season that it’s something we need to work on so as not to compromise the performance we had on Saturday,” he said.
“Now, with almost five weeks off from racing, we will stay focused and make the most of this time to work together across all our bases and improve the car so we can return in Miami, in May, in a better position,” he concluded.
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