Gabriel Bortoleto expects long-term stay at Audi's F1 team

Gabriel Bortoleto expects to remain at Audi for the long-term, stating that he has a deal with the Swiss-German Formula 1 outfit to cover the next few seasons.

The Brazilian joined the team in 2025 for its final season as Sauber and scored 19 points in his rookie year, and across 2026 has scored 10 of Audi’s 12 points. As it stands, he sits 14th in the championship – eight points behind Haas’ Oliver Bearman.

His Belgian Grand Prix was arguably the highlight of the season so far, when he qualified ninth on a circuit where Audi had expected to struggle, given its power deficit versus the other top-line manufacturers. After starting eighth thanks to Lando Norris’ grid penalty, Bortoleto held onto his position and stalled out a late charge from Arvid Lindblad to secure four points.

With Audi enduring something of a learning season as it adapts to life as an F1 manufacturer team, Bortoleto says that he retains belief in the team’s long-term ambitions. Speaking to Motorsport.com’s Brazilian edition, the Paulista said that he remains tied to the team for the next few years.

“As far as I can say, because it’s something confidential, let’s just say there are no clauses. I have a long-term contract with Audi. I’ve already said it: I’ll be with Audi next year, and not only next year, but for the following years as well,” Bortoleto said.

“The intention, and I’ve always said this from the beginning, is that this is a long-term project. Mattia [Binotto] is always talking about 2030. So let’s put it that way. It’s a project we really believe in. I believed in it when I joined them, they believe in my potential, and that’s what I can say. It’s something long-term.

“I’m very excited. This year was the first step, building a new car and a new engine. Next year will be another step, and then we’ll be able to start putting things into practice.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

Bortoleto admitted that it was not entirely clear if his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg had a contract for next year as well, but he was keen to outline that he hugely enjoys working with the veteran German driver. 

The two have developed a good working relationship, and Bortoleto has demonstrated across the past 18 months that he can match his elder team-mate for pace.

“I can say that my seat is secured. I’m not going to talk about other people’s contracts, but I really enjoy working with Nico,” he added.

“That’s something I want to say and make very clear. He’s a guy I really like. He’s fast, experienced and brings a lot of positive things to the team, and we’ll see what the future holds.

“But I’m happy. I believe in myself and I believe in my potential.”

Bortoleto “totally different” after rookie season

Speaking about his own development, Bortoleto felt that he had grown significantly as a driver since making his debut last season. On winning 2024’s Formula 2 title at the first time of asking, Bortoleto was in demand – and Sauber/Audi agreed to spring him from his McLaren development deal to drive in 2025.

Since he’d only been part of McLaren’s driver development programme for a year, he’d had very few opportunities to drive an F1 car; his TPC  [Testing of Previous Cars] run in Austria in 2024 being his only meaningful run before jumping into the Sauber in Abu Dhabi’s post-season test.

Bortoleto felt that he was “very raw” when he got to F1, and was thrust upon a steep development curve through the opening phase of 2025.

“[I’m] totally different. I arrived in F1 very raw. Everything happened very quickly. My opportunity in F1 came from one moment to the next. I had barely done any testing, not even TPC.

“I basically had to go straight into an F1 season, do pre-season testing in Bahrain, and that was it. So the amount I learned throughout the year was huge. I’m still learning a lot. I’ve had a team that has supported me all the way.

“We had some great moments last year. So far this year, I’m also very happy with my season. We’ve achieved a lot of things together and we’re making the car more and more competitive.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team