Gabriel Bortoleto secured a place among the top ten on the starting grid for the Formula 1 Japanese GP, and celebrated the performance in the qualifying session. The Brazilian highlighted the evolution throughout the sessions and showed confidence in the fight for points in the race.
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The result puts the Audi driver in a strategic position to fight directly for a good result. Starting in P9, Bortoleto believes that the pace shown allows him to dream of a finish within the points zone.
“I am very happy with today’s qualifying session and with what the team provided me in terms of the overall package,” said the Brazilian. According to him, the performance was built gradually throughout the initial phases of the session.
“We built confidence throughout Q1 and Q2, and we managed some really consistent laps,” he said. Even though satisfied, the driver highlighted that there is still room for evolution and fine-tuning on the car: “Of course, there is still work to do to improve even further, some fine-tuning, but it is a great feeling to start in the top ten tomorrow and be in the fight for points,” he stated.
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The grid position was seen by the driver as an important opportunity for the race. Thinking about the race, Bortoleto highlighted that the scenario could change, but remained optimistic with the potential demonstrated: “Tomorrow is a different day, clearly, but I am confident that we can be in the mix,” he added.
The Brazilian also pointed out that some opponents ahead can be reached by the pace shown in the qualifying session: “We have some cars ahead that we know we can face in terms of pace, and we will give our best,” he completed.
With this, Bortoleto arrives at the race with positive expectations and the concrete possibility of fighting for points, betting on the consistency and performance shown throughout the qualifying session.
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