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'I guarantee Max Verstappen would have won in my situation too'
- Ludo van Denderen
Of course, a nice helping of luck did help Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian, part of the McLaren junior programme, from the very last place on the grid at Monza, thanks to a safety car coming in at a positive moment for him, won the Formula 2 feature race. In doing so, he did something that even Max Verstappen never managed to do: In a Formula race, start from last place and still win.
A nice statistic, but Bortoleto was honest, speaking later in the day to GPblog: "I believe if Max Verstappen was in my situation, I guarantee to you he would've won as well," said the Brazilian, who is in the interest of Audi and might drive alongside Nico Hulkenberg in Formula 1 next season.
The final push for Audi?
When asked, Bortoleto said: "I am still focused on Formula 2, to do deliver my job. All talks with any team in the F1 paddock are made by my managers and also with McLaren. I will leave this with them and focus on F2." Still, with the win at Monza, Bortoleto did make a nice statement. Perhaps the final push for Audi to bring him in?
"The best thing you can do to get a seat in Formula 1 is perform well in your first year [in F2] because it shows adaptability in a new car and category. It's very important to show these performances in the first year, because they can take the risk of putting in a rookie in knowing he can adapt quickly. We did in F3 and F2 now. I keep doing my job in F2 the best I can. I've been working hard since F3 and other categories. I have put so much effort in. For me, it's gratitude. To be here today and to win a race, to show this performance and one day try to get a F1 seat. That's the dream," Bortoleto said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton
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