Between risking it all and keeping everything together: what Gabriel Bortoleto’s win teaches us
- Alice Cecchi
- Sep 6, 2023
- 4 min read
All the way from Brazil, he collected every point he could to reach the highest spot in Formula 3: consistency, patience, and tenacity were the three essential ingredients that led him to the championship win, which remained fiercely competitive until the last round.
The Italian Grand Prix always brings a lot of emotions, both for those who populate the paddock and for those who only get to watch from the outside. It may be because of how fast the track is, due to all the drivers who won there, or to the Tifosi with their unconditional love, but there’s always a magic atmosphere. This year, Formula 3 arrived in Monza with a lot at stake, raising the tension sky-high from the very first day of action on track. It’s not very easy to see only one driver dominating a season in the feeder series, much less the championship closing before the very last round, so Gabriel Bortoleto arrived on track with a pretty stellar curriculum: two wins, six podiums, and, more importantly, a gap that allowed him to win the title mathematically already from the qualifying round.
The only two drivers who could prevent him from winning even before the lights went out for the Sprint race were Paul Aron (Prema Team) and Pepe Martì (Campos Racing), his main contenders before Monza. If either of them managed to snatch the pole position, thus earning two points, they could have made it a bit more difficult for the Brazilian. As the qualifying session was interrupted after only ten minutes - due to a red flag caused by Oliver Goethe’s crash - Aron and Martì had to settle respectively for a third and thirteenth spot on the grid, losing those two points that would have stopped Bortoleto from winning.
It only took a couple of seconds for the Trident mechanics to run towards the Brazilian’s single seater. He, with his visor still down, took even less time to realize that, after years spent chasing titles that never ended up in his hands, he made it. He didn’t even have the time to take his helmet off when he had every team member around cheering him on and celebrating his victory. Unluckily, it was another championship awarded in the pit lane, just like last year’s one, and it definitely lacked that magic of crossing the finish line while remembering all the accomplishments of the season. The one who missed it most was certainly Gabriel himself, who, under the checkered flag of Saturday's race, where he finished second after a spectacular comeback, to say the least, celebrated with his engineer, remembering that he won this championship with a fierce tenacity.
One could even joke about the way the Brazilian built his season, that seems like a perfect guide on how to win a championship, given his consistency and ability to always claim a few points. With only one DNF, he did miss the Top 10 once, but he always preferred to stay off the podium rather than thwart an entire race. He found his first success in Bahrain at the opening race, where he immediately showed he had the right speed to impose himself throughout the season. He showed again his potential soon after in Melbourne, to begin a series of weekends in which he always managed to take home a few points, to arrive at Spa Francorchamps, the penultimate round, with enough of an advantage to win. Without luck on his side, he had to forfeit the virtual trophy in Belgium to arrive at the Temple of Speed even more determined.
As it’s often said, hard work pays off, and clearly, Gabriel Bortoleto is one of those who has never stopped working to make his dreams come true since his first lap on a gokart. From Brazil to Europe, from national to international circuits, from karting to single-seater racing, Bortoleto has always believed in his dream. Chosen by Fernando Alonso to be part of his academy, he didn’t always succeed but, at the same time, he never gave up, coming to see himself as the brightest star in the sky of the propaedeutic formulas closest to Formula 1. When it came time to prove his worth, Gabriel did so, stamping his name on the highest peak of his championship. His rivals surely gave him a hard time, as the Formula 3 grid this season was full of talents who wasted no time in proving their speed, but o menino do Brasil, as he was called in karting and Formula 4, never stumbled and always found the right balance between risking it all and keeping everything together. There was never a miscalculated overtake or a step out of line: his season was built between patience and attention.
What Gabriel Bortoleto teaches is that to triumph, there’s no need to bite off more than one can chew. There is no need to always try to be ahead of everyone, but to be there when it counts. What is needed is foresight, the ability to adapt, and, above all, the strength to get back up - or, in his case, to climb back up the grid to the highest position possible. Champions are not born, they are made, and Bortoleto, mile after mile, has succeeded.
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