Revealed: How Fernando Alonso could influence Audi F1’s next driver decision

Fernando Alonso has confirmed that his protege Gabriel Bortoleto is in talks with Audi over an F1 2025 seat, with rival teams also expressing an interest in the F2 star.

McLaren junior Bortoleto has emerged as a candidate to race for Audi, who will take over the existing Sauber team in time for F1’s new regulations in 2026, for next season.

Fernando Alonso to sway Audi F1 2025 driver decision in Gabriel Bortoleto’s favour?

Audi have been forced to consider other targets to partner Nico Hulkenberg for F1 2025 after top targets Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon elected to join Williams and Haas respectively.

Bortoleto has enjoyed an impressive rookie season in F2, the prestigious F1 feeder series, in 2024 and currently sits second in the drivers’ standings behind Red Bull-backed youngster Isack Hadjar.

The 19-year-old Brazilian joined McLaren’s driver academy following his triumphant F3 season in 2023 and has been a member of Aston Martin F1 driver Alonso’s own management company since 2022.

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Speaking to Brazilian TV station Band at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Alonso declared that a move into F1 is “the next step” for Bortoleto – and revealed that he has attracted interest from a number of teams, including Audi.

He said: “Gabriel has extraordinary talent and is ready for big challenges and Formula 1 is certainly the next step for Gabriel. He’s doing very well in Formula 2, but you have to have the right time to get to Formula 1.

“You can’t arrive too early or too late, you have to arrive at the right time.

“‘And arriving at the right time will be the biggest challenge Gabriel will have.

“But of course there are possibilities, he’s a driver that the teams are very attentive to.

“The drivers respect him, the teams also respect him and ask about him – and not just Audi – so I hope we find an option.”

An F1 promotion for Bortoleto would end the sport’s extended wait for a full-time Brazilian driver stretching back to 11-time race winner Felipe Massa’s last season with Williams in 2017.

Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time World Champion, made two appearances for the Haas team in late 2020 following Romain Grosjean’s fiery accident in Bahrain.

Alonso’s comments come after his own manager, Flavio Briatore, dropped a hint over the Spaniard’s F1 future over the summer break.

Alonso, who turned 43 last month, signed a contract extension with Aston Martin until at least the end of the 2026 season in April.

Appearing on the Formula For Success podcast, Briatore suggested that 2026 is likely to be Alonso’s last season as it stands with the Spaniard set to decide if he is willing to “continue for one more year” in 2027.

He said: “I don’t know [about his future]. If you ask me if Fernando wants to continue after we finish in the contract, our last year will be 2026 for the moment.

“What he wants to do after, I don’t know. Does he want to continue for one more year?

“The performance is there. You see the performance of Fernando, it’s there. It’s not a question of him losing concentration, during the race he’s always there.

“If he’s 11th, he wants to be 10th. If he’s 10th, he want to be ninth. He wants the car to be competitive. He’s qualifying well, he’s racing well.

“I don’t know, honestly, if he wants to stop with 2026 as his last year or if he wants to go ahead. Honestly, I don’t know.

“It depends on the feeling he has about racing and the timing, I don’t know if he’ll have a family at the time and whatever.

“But for sure, he is somebody unique. I’ve never seen somebody like that, so determined every day, every day, every day. Never give up. Unbelievable.”

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