BEYOND THE GRID: Bortoleto on dreaming big and his long journey to F1

Aged 11, Gabriel Bortoleto left Brazil, determined to make it in motorsport. His family’s passion, hard work and sacrifice gave him a start.

His talent saw him accelerate towards a racing career. A two-time World Champion saw he was special, and helped guide him to Formula 1.

Speaking to Beyond The Grid host Tom Clarkson, Bortoleto looks back at his childhood, how his parents worked hard to fund his racing dream, how he made the difficult decision to leave them behind and go to Europe to further his career, and why Fernando Alonso’s support was essential as he climbed the racing ladder.

Winning the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championship titles earned Bortoleto a place in F1. He explains how he is adjusting to the driving and living in the World Championship, the pride he feels representing Brazil, and what racing against experienced team mate Nico Hulkenberg is teaching him.

The Kick Sauber driver also reflects on how his manager and on-track rival Alonso continues to help him, and why he spends hours on his home simulator immediately after every race weekend.

To listen to this week’s episode, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.

You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated Beyond The Grid library here.