F1 driver pulled out of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix session as team investigate issue

Only 19 drivers will be on the track during FP2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Sauber were forced to change the chassis on Gabriel Bortoleto's car. The Brazilian racer was suffering from a fuel leak. The Sauber rookie was the slowest of all drivers in FP1 earlier on Friday, finishing less than a hundredth of a second behind Haas' Esteban Ocon.

With no FP2 running, the 20-year-old is on the back foot heading into qualifying at one of the most challenging circuits on the F1 calendar. It has been a steep learning curve for Bortoleto, who arrived on the F1 grid with immense pedigree. The Sao Paulo-born racer won the Formula Three and Formula Two championships in back-to-back seasons, matching the achievements of George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.

However, Bortoleto's start to life in F1 has been far from ideal, and not helped by the ill-handling C45 machine he is piloting. His Sauber car sprang a fuel leak after FP1, forcing the team to change the chassis. Under the FIA regulations, he was ruled out of FP2, as the governing body must put the new car through scrutineering before it can hit the track.

The Brazilian is under no illusions about the situation facing Sauber in 2025. “I’m not expecting anything more than what we have done today, to be honest,” he said after the Bahrain Grand Prix. “With our pace, we cannot fight points right now.

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“There is no window. The window is so, so small, and it’s almost impossible. Like FP2, we managed to get it into the window, but you cannot rely on such a small window. We need to work to get a more predictable and more constant balance.”

When asked about his challenging start to life with Sauber ahead of the race in Jeddah, Bortoleto drew a comparison to Russell. The British racer also won back-to-back titles en route to an F1 seat, but joined a brutally uncompetitive Williams team and impressed in his rookie campaign without scoring a point. He is now a three-time Grand Prix winner.

"If you see George Russell at the beginning of his Formula One career, I don't think he scored a point in his first season in F1 or something like this," Bortoleto explained. "And now, he's one of the best drivers on the grid and doing such a great job. I wouldn't say fighting for the championship right now, but he's constantly on the podium or fighting for things, so it's all about having patience.

"There is nothing much I can do right now. Just learn, try to grow as a driver in these tough moments and do a better job every race weekend. And, yeah, get better because I'm not fighting for points right now. That's the realistic situation."