Gabriel Bortoleto’s evolution in Formula 1 also involves how he approaches wheel-to-wheel battles. In his second season as a full-time driver, the Brazilian stated that he feels respect from his rivals in on-track battles, even in confrontations taken to the limit.
The Audi driver highlighted that the current F1 environment allows aggressive racing without crossing the line of sporting fairness. According to him, competitors can fight for positions intensely without turning duels into personal conflicts.
In an interview with the Pitstop podcast, Bortoleto talked about his relationship with Oliver Bearman, Haas driver and former rival in junior categories. The two debuted in Formula 1 in 2025 and maintain a friendship off the track, something that, according to the Brazilian, does not interfere with competitiveness during races.
When asked if he would still go out to dinner with Bearman after a possible contact between them, Bortoleto answered casually: “Not the same day,” he said before explaining that this kind of situation is part of motorsport. “He is always fair with me when we compete and I am fair with him. If he makes a mistake, or I do, and at some point that will happen because we will keep fighting, we will crash, it’s inevitable. It happens, it’s part of our job. It doesn’t mean he did it on purpose, or I did,” he said.
The Brazilian also emphasized the importance of separating professional rivalry from personal coexistence: “We need to separate professional and personal life,” the Audi driver commented when talking about the relationship between drivers off the track.
Bortoleto also explained that he tries to maintain the same attitude regardless of the opponent he is fighting for position with. Despite this, he acknowledged that some drivers require a firmer approach during duels: “Some are tougher, so you are tougher with them too, you put them in their place. However, currently in F1, I don’t really have that with anyone. I think everyone respects me on track and I respect everyone,” he added.
Concluding the topic, the Brazilian highlighted that the technical level of the category’s drivers allows intense battles without contact most of the time: “We race hard. It’s not like I leave a huge gap to avoid crashing, we race on the limit. But in F1 they are talented enough to go to the limit and not crash. I find it fun and I don’t race differently because it’s Ollie, Max (Verstappen) or anyone else. It’s always on the limit and that’s the fun part of our job,” he concluded.
