Brazilian
Gabriel Bortoleto is the Brazilian who achieved one of the rarest feats on the junior ladder: back-to-back FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, both as a rookie, in 2023 and 2024.
Formula 3
Bortoleto contested his first FIA Formula 3 season in 2023 with Trident and won the championship in dominant fashion. He scored six podiums across the year, including two victories, and sealed the drivers' title at the first attempt, a debut campaign that immediately marked him as a special talent and a leading member of the McLaren junior programme.
Formula 2
Graduating straight to FIA Formula 2 in 2024 with Invicta Racing, Bortoleto repeated the trick. He claimed two wins and six further podiums on his way to the title, becoming only the seventh driver in GP2/F2 history to win the championship as a rookie. In doing so he became the fourth driver of the FIA F2 era to take the F3 and F2 crowns in consecutive years, joining the elite company of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri.
After F2
The back-to-back titles made Bortoleto one of the most coveted juniors in the world. He was signed to a Formula 1 race seat with Kick Sauber for 2025, the team that becomes the Audi works entry, placing him on a long-term path with a major manufacturer. His junior career is a textbook example of a driver winning at every level on the first attempt.