Components 1 star Gabriel Bortoleto is chasing his first factors of the season in Montreal however was hit by important disruption when having dinner in Switzerland days earlier than the GP
Components 1 star Gabriel Bortoleto noticed his preparations for the Canadian Grand Prix disrupted by a theft which disadvantaged him of his passport. The thieves are understood to have struck when he was in Switzerland within the lead-up to the race, with a pc additionally stolen.
Bortoleto, 20, is in his first season as an F1 driver. He joined Sauber forward of the 2025 season and has but to attain some extent, however a twelfth place end in Spain in Could was his finest end result up to now.
The teen continues to be in a position to participate in Canada, nevertheless it was touch-and-go-for some time. Thieves broke into his automotive and stole paperwork, a few of which have been recovered, however he was pressured to journey to Canada with a second passport as he aimed to minimise the disruption.
“I had gone to dinner sooner or later in Switzerland and so they ended up opening the automotive and taking my backpack,” Bortoleto informed Brazilian media. “I had my passports, all the things inside, my pc, all my operating gear,” Bortoleto described.
“It was chaos, however we managed to seek out the man. All the things labored out in the long run, I’ve my passports. We did not discover all the things, however we did discover some issues,”
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Whereas Bortoleto continues to be ready for his first level of the season, team-mate Nico Hulkenberg impressed with a fifth-place end in Spain. The German now sits eleventh within the drivers’ standings wit 16 factors, having opened the season with seventh place on the Australian Grand Prix.
Final yr, Sauber had been represented on the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit by Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, with each ending exterior the factors in Canada. The 2024 race was received by eventual world champion Max Verstappen, with Lando Norris and George Russell finishing the rostrum.
“It’s a road circuit, so I believe that at all times makes the weekend slightly bit extra aggressive – I don’t know if that’s the best phrase. I believe it makes errors slightly bit much less acceptable,” Bortoleto informed reporters forward of the 2025 race in Montreal.
This yr’s Canadian Grand Prix can even see Lance Stroll return to motion after lacking out in Barcelona. The Aston Martin driver withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix after qualifying, and has undergone a medical process on his wrist forward of his residence GP in Canada.
“I began to really feel some ache in my wrist and hand a few months in the past, however I needed to maintain racing,” Stroll stated. “Nevertheless, the discomfort simply grew to become an excessive amount of, and we made the choice to have medical intervention.
“Naturally, I used to be disillusioned to overlook the race in Barcelona nevertheless it was the best name on the time, and I am trying ahead to getting again to racing this weekend… [The wrist’s] feeling good.”
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