Brazilian Bortoleto feels the weight of history in Monaco
MONACO, May 23 (Reuters) - Gabriel Bortoleto can feel the weight of history as the Brazilian rookie prepares to race around the same metal-fenced Monaco streets once dominated by his Formula One idol Ayrton Senna.
Triple world champion Senna, whose death at Imola in 1994 shocked the sport, won a record six times in the Mediterranean principality including five in a row with McLaren between 1989 and 1993.
Bortoleto, also from Sao Paulo and last year's Formula Two champion who also won the Formula Three title the season before, will be the first Brazilian since Felipe Massa in 2017 to start the showcase race.
The 20-year-old Sauber driver, whose team will become the Audi factory outfit next year, said his father had told him stories about Senna for as long as he could remember.
"He was, he is, my idol," he told Reuters in an interview. "I believe he was the greatest. I think not only as a driver, but as a person, the Brazilian driver that did the most for the country, did the most for everyone."
The legacy, he added, remained very much alive as well as the country's thirst to produce another winner and eventual champion.
"Definitely I feel it, you know, and it's obvious because everyone that represents a country, and you are the only one doing that in this series, you end up feeling that from the fans and everyone," he said.
"It doesn't matter what position we are in right now, because I'm sure we are going to get better in the future as a team and everything, but having someone on the grid is super important to keep our country alive in this sport."
Bortoleto has yet to score a point in seven races with Sauber, currently last of the 10 teams, but he made light of his situation.
He has the example of manager and mentor Fernando Alonso, a double world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006 who went through his 2001 debut season with tail-enders Minardi without scoring.
Alonso, still racing at 43 with Aston Martin, has also yet to open his account in 2025.
"It's not nice to not have points, but I really don't care because my target in Formula One is not to score one point and 'now I have a point in the season'," said Bortoleto.
"My target here is to develop and grow as a driver like I see I'm doing and one day be fighting for a championship and win.
"I'm not here to be a guy that scores a couple of points. Who remembers about these people that score a little bit of points and they finish P13 in the championship?"
Bortoleto has a contract for 2026 and said this year would be a learning one.
That includes having to move aside as a backmarker for faster cars -- such as his friend, simulator racing rival and four times world champion Max Verstappen -- when blue flags are waved.
"I'm not used to that, you know, I've never got a blue flag in my life before Formula One," said Bortoleto.
"I'm sure that one day, hopefully I will be blue flagging people... you know patience is everything and hopefully my career in Formula One is not a short one.
"I'm here to stay for very long, and at some point I'm sure I'm going to have a good car to deliver strong results and to celebrate good things with this great team I have behind me."
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