Bortoleto downbeat after 'one of the toughest weekends of my whole career'

Gabriel Bortoleto admits he was left very upset after retiring from both races during his first Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos as a Formula 1 driver.

The Sauber rookie was fighting for positions late in the Sprint when he had an enormous accident into Turn 1, losing control on a damp track and suffering an impact at an estimated 57G. That meant Bortoleto just missed out on qualifying despite a valiant effort from his team to rebuild a car for him, and the Brazilian then crashed out on the opening lap of Sunday’s race when fighting with Lance Stroll.

“Tough weekend,” Bortoleto said. “Just very upset because it's in my first home race. You always expect to do a good job or at least race a little bit.

“I think it has been one of the toughest weekends of my whole career because I see that my fans are here, my family and my team. For them it is also very important. I had one of the biggest accidents in my career as well, probably the biggest one… I think it's a combination of things.

“And then not doing a single lap in the race after having a good start until that moment – I think I was up two positions already, was going for the third move and just had a contact with Lance. I don't want to point fingers here or there. I just think it's a racing incident. In the first lap, everything can happen.

“I think obviously I was in the outside. I didn't get any space from him, but also difficult for him to judge that I'm there. So I just want to move on and go for the next race.”

Despite the disappointment of failing to complete a full competitive lap after the end of the Sprint, Bortoleto says he feels grateful for the passionate support he received from the Interlagos crowd as he became the first Brazilian to race at home since Felipe Nasr in 2016.

“Just thank you. Thank you. Because even throughout the difficult moments of this weekend, they have been there supporting, cheering, screaming my name and being there. So I cannot thank them enough.

“It's just incredible to see my country so happy to have someone. And I hope I make them proud soon, because weekends like this, for sure, no one is happy, not myself. But thank you everyone, every single Brazilian there and everyone in the world watching and supporting me this weekend.”