Bortoleto: “Audi is a dream. It’s the kind of project that happens once in a lifetime”

Unique opportunity After making his debut in F1 last year, showing unquestionable talent, in 2026 Gabriel Bortoleto is called upon to make the leap in quality. The Brazilian was obviously one of the protagonists of the presentation of the Audi livery which took place this evening in Berlin. The young driver from Sao Paulo will have the honor of being one of the two drivers – together with Nico Hulkenberg – to represent the House of the Rings for the first time in the Circus, which after having raced and won in all motorsport categories has finally decided to try his hand at Formula 1. Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation of the livery, Bortoleto did not hide a certain emotion: “For me this is a dream come true – declared Bortoleto – it is the type of project that happens once in a lifetime life and it’s also an opportunity to create a legacy that will forever remain in history. So I’m looking forward to it. Great stimuli The couple with Hulkenberg seems close-knit and Bortoleto did not fail to joke about the difference in experience between himself and the German veteran, who boasts 250 GPs contested in F1 compared to Gabi’s 24: “There is almost no difference, I would say, [l’esperienza] it’s similar – joked Audi’s #5 – joking aside obviously Nico and I encourage each other. I think last year was proof of that. There were many positive moments, where we pushed each other and also pushed the team to progress and I don’t think it will be any different in 2026. We will continue to do the same to each other.” “As I said before, this is a once in a lifetime project. So you have to enjoy every second and be happy to be part of this fantastic team that we are building together. I joined this team a year and a half ago and I already see the difference we are making. There has been a lot of progress and people are much happier, or so it seems. And then there are the results we achieved last year and those we want to achieve in the future. So you have to enjoy every second because we will only have an experience like this once in a lifetime.”