Despite finishing P19, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto described his 2025 F1 Japanese GP experience as a “special”. Though he missed out on points and was one of only a handful of drivers to lose positions during the race, the Sauber rookie also viewed his maiden outing in Suzuka as a learning opportunity.
Having qualified P17, behind teammate Nico Hülkenberg, Bortoleto opted to start the 53-lap race on the hard compound tyres, deviating from the more popular strategy which saw many drivers starting on the medium tyres.
Unfortunately, Bortoleto faced an uphill battle right from the start of the race. Just moments after the lights went out, he experienced wheelspin due to the rain-dampened track and his cold hard tyres. He lost three positions going into Turn 1 to Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson. Ultimately, his use of an alternative strategy did not pay off and he finished P19.
Japanese GP more boring than difficult for Bortoleto
Despite his poor result, Bortoleto does not think that the race was difficult. Instead, he described it as boring, lamenting the lack of opportunities to overtake around the Suzuka Circuit.
“Well, [the race was] not so difficult,” Bortoleto said, “But just boring you know.”
“It’s difficult to overtake in Suzuka. I think you probably heard this from the other guys as well. It’s just a bit boring to stay behind, even if you have more pace. That was, I think, my case.”
He believes that this lack of opportunities to overtake the drivers ahead of him contributed to his poor race, and while he described it as “a shame”, he plans to focus on the races ahead.
“Especially in the last part of the race, I felt that I was quite a lot quicker, so I had a really big pace advantage.”
“I tried two times, but I wasn’t able to be side-by-side at the end of the straight. Shame, but we move on.”
Bortoleto also expressed his disappointment at being unable to make up ground in Suzuka. In the last laps of the race, the Sauber driver was part of a five-car battle at the back of the grid, with only two seconds separating him from Doohan in P15. Unfortunately, nothing came of this battle, though the Brazilian driver admitted that his had not been unexpected by him or his team.
Despite this, he was still surprised by his inability to overtake Haas’ Esteban Ocon despite his pace advantage. Bortoleto eventually finished the 2025 F1 Japanese GP race just over four-tenths behind the Haas driver in P18.
“Well, we knew,” he replied when asked if he had been surprised by the lack of overtaking in Suzuka.
“I heard a lot of times that it was a difficult track to overtake. It surprised me because even with a four-tenths pace advantage, it was difficult to overtake Esteban. It’s a bit not so nice, but it is what it is.”
Bortoleto views Suzuka outing as a learning experience
Despite the 2025 Japanese GP being his maiden outing in Suzuka, Bortoleto took the weekend and its challenges in stride. Though not the outcome that he would have wanted, views the Japanese GP as learning experience
“I learned a lot,” Bortoleto summarised.
Having started on the hard tyres and ended on the mediums, the race provided Bortoleto an opportunity to improve his tyre management skills.
“I learned a lot on tyre management,” he said, “I think it was very solid. I managed to keep both of my tyres alive for very long in my stints.”
Tyre management was not the only major learning that Bortoleto look from the F1 Japanese GP. He stated that he used to opportunity to familarise himself with his new team and the C45.
“I think I did a lot of settings during the race that I didn’t try so many times in the previous races. This time, I was a bit more reactive with things, with the balance of the car and communication with my engineers. I think this is the positive.”
While Bortoloto could not show what he learned in Japan during the race, he hopes that he will have the opportunity to do so in the near future.
“Unforuntately, we cannot show this on track and overtake everyone, but when the opportunity will come, we will be able to deliver.”
Bortoleto looking ahead to Bahrain
With the 2025 F1 Japanese GP now complete, Bortoleto turns his eyes to the upcoming race in Bahrain. Bahrain holds special memories for Bortoleto, who claimed his first F2 pole around the Sakhir International Circuit in 2024. This was also the site of where he tested Sauber’s C45 for the first time during February’s pre-season testing.
With some experience under his belt, Bortoleto is looking forward to the upcoming Bahrain GP, which will give him an opportunity to show his skills on a familiar track.
“It will be good. I’m excited for Bahrain. It’s a track I’ve done a bit of laps on already, so I’m looking forward to it.”
