Sauber driver Gabriel Bortleto withdrew from the main race of the GP São Paulo held at the José Carlos Pace Racetrack in Interlagos, south of the capital São Paulo, after crashing on the first lap this Sunday (9/11). However, looking back at this circuit, we can see that this race was not kind to the Brazilian making his debut in his home country.
Bortleto was hit by Aston Martin’s Canadian Lance Stroll and had to abandon the race. However, this is not the first time the Brazilian driver has failed to score points on his home debut. The same thing happened to Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa. (see more below).
Only Emerson Fittipaldi, with John Player Team Lotus in 1973, achieved a spectacular victory on his debut at GP São Paulo, then known as GP Brazil. On that occasion, the driver won the race and repeated the result the following year in 1974. Since then, no other Brazilian player has scored on his debut for Interlagos.
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Bortleto made contact with Lance Stroll on the first lap, forcing him to withdraw from the GP São Paulo race at Interlagos.
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Experts are working to prepare Bortolet’s car for this Sunday’s GP (9/11)
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Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortleto at GP Sao Paulo 2025 media day
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Bortleto breaks eight-year fast without Brazilians at F1 Interlagos
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Bortleto was fifth.
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Bortleto, Alonso, Verstappen
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Binotto will take charge of Audi’s Voltolet team in 2026
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A look back at the Brazilian drivers who made their debut at Interlagos
- Just like Bortleto, picket He withdrew from his first race at the São Paulo circuit in 1979 after colliding with an opponent’s car.
- SennaHe made his debut in the Brazilian race in 1984, when stages were still being held at the Jacarepagua circuit in Rio de Janeiro, but also abandoned the race. He was driving in Tolman when the car suddenly stopped.
- The Brazilian motorsport idol first raced at Interlagos in 1990. That year too, he suffered a hit from an opponent and had to have the nose of his car replaced, dropping him to the back of the grid.
- However, Senna managed to return to the race and make a recovery run, finishing in 3rd place.
- In addition to Pique and Senna, Barrichello Also in 1993, a gearbox failure with the team he was driving for, Jardon, forced him to abandon his first race at Interlagos.
- Massa made his debut on the circuit in 2002 with Sauber, the same team that Gabriel currently races for. At that time, he collided with another car and spun out, forcing him to withdraw from the race.
Brazilian tops Interlagos poles
Despite a disastrous debut, the Brazilian remains at the top of the driver count. pole position Achieved at the São Paulo circuit. According to statistics released by F1, Brazil has started from first on the grid 14 times in its history. There were six very Senna had three, Massa had three, Barrichello had three, Fittipaldi had one and Piquet had one.
British drivers started from the front 12 times at Interlagos. The last pole position by a British driver was taken this Saturday (8/11) by championship leader Lando Norris in his McLaren. Finland and Germany follow with six players. pole position each.
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“Another race of the season”
On the eve of the São Paulo Grand Prix, Bortleto told reporters that the 21st stage of the season at Interlagos would be like any other stage this year. “We’ve done a lot, but I’m definitely more excited. I want to drive, I want to see what Interlagos is like and feel everything, but I don’t think it’s pressure,” said the Sauber driver.
“Just because I’m in Brazil I don’t have to perform better or worse,” said the 21-year-old, who was F2 and F3 champion in his debut year.
This Saturday (8/11), Gabriel suffered a huge crash during qualifying training and was forced to start 19th, unable to complete one lap around the circuit in his bid to advance to Q2 due to Max Verstappen’s penalty for changing the engine in car 1 at parc fermé. Despite this, he said he was looking forward to racing this Sunday.
A brilliant debut
The Brazilian was outstanding throughout his debut season in F1, scoring several points even with an uncompetitive car. Additionally, he is also the youngest driver to score points in a major category in world motorsport.
This year, Bortleto scored in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy and the United States, reaching the mark of 19 points and taking 19th place in the championship.
The driver will remain with the same team next year along with teammate Nico Hulkenberg. However, Sauber will be reborn as Audi, a promising team that has bought the right to participate in F1.
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