How will Bortoleto stack up against Hulkenberg at Sauber?

Mattia Binotto apparently took Max Verstappen's advice and hired Formula 2 championship leader Bortoleto to partner with Hulkenberg at Sauber, or Audi's developing F1 project, if nothing dramatic happens, that is...

And while Hulkenberg is known for being a safe pair of hands and a good qualifier, as his recent performances at Haas have shown, it would be fair to wonder how Bortoleto will perform against him.

And here it is worth mentioning that Oliver Bearman, who replaced an ill Kevin Magnussen over the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, outperformed Hulkenberg convincingly.

Hulkenberg holds the unwanted record of being the driver with the most race starts without a podium. He has taken part in 224 Grands Prix and failed to finish on the podium. He had a few chances that did not materialize either due to errors from him or other factors out of his control.

And with the trend of getting rookie drivers into F1, who go on and perform impressively out of the box, the question of how Bortoleto will perform in his maiden F1 season in 2025 is a valid one.

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert was full of praise for the Brazilian; he said: "When I was coming through, the route was getting into F3, making a statement, and winning the championship, then bang, F2, the same, before getting into F1.

"Gabriel is therefore following a time-honored progression. He won F3 and has a good chance of winning the F2 championship this year. That is where you realize there's something special there. To be able to jump in [to F2] straight away and win is the most impressive thing you can do as a young driver.

"Mentality-wise he seems to be very strong, and he delivers, not just once or twice but consistently. Consistency is something F1 teams really look at. The only way you get noticed is by being the man and being the best.

"He is going to be very on his game when he gets into an F1 car," Herbert predicted. "We've seen it that when Bearman has gone in with Hulkenberg with Haas, he has been very competitive and faster than him.

"There is a good chance Bortoleto will be the same. He might be the quickest driver in that team," he claimed.

Bortoleto, a McLaren Driver Development Program member, won the 2023 Formula 3 championship 45 points clear of his nearest rival. He currently leads the F2 championship by 4.5 points with two more rounds remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.