Gabriel Bortoleto explains approach to second F1 season, admits he would prefer no winter break

Gabriel Bortoleto is preparing for his second season in Formula 1. While his rookie year is now behind him, the Brazilian driver has confirmed he has not changed his approach in his preparations for the upcoming season.

Bortoleto finished 19th in the 2025 drivers' championship and is eager to start another season with the Audi F1 team, which has taken over Sauber.

"To be honest, the same way I approached my rookie season," he explained at the Audi F1 launch event in Berlin when asked how he's going into 2026.

"The approach of being professional and working hard is always the same and I feel like I never really took the rookie title as a thing in F3 or F2 or F1 — it's just another new season.

"For me it's just going to be all about working hard and preparing [for] the season as much as I can as well as learning from my mistakes."

As he prepares for the season ahead, which ushers in a new set of regulations, Bortoleto has been putting in time on the simulator. He explained that he'd rather be doing this than have a winter break. 

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi

Photo by: Formula 1

"Oh, a lot. How many days is difficult to say. At home I was doing sim every day," he added. "If I could, I wouldn't even have a winter break. It was nice to spend a bit of time with family but I feel like after five days I was already feeling a bit useless. I was away from the factory and the team, I was like, 'I want to go back.'"

Bortoleto has now completed the first day of private testing in Barcelona. While his day was cut short due to a technical issue after 27 laps, he explained that it was a positive day, and stopping was simply a precaution.

Private testing will continue for the rest of the week before two more blocks of testing in Bahrain on 11-13 February and 18-20 February.