Gabriel Bortoleto was involved in an accident on his F1 debut at Interlagos. Still in the car, he blamed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Afterwards, he said he experienced the “worst day of his life” after abandoning the race at home.
“Stroll pushed me out [da pista]. He just turned as if I wasn’t there”, said Bortoleto. Afterwards, the Brazilian got into the organization’s car and left the track.
The Sauber driver hit the wall protection after colliding with the rear wheel of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll’s car, in the duckbill, just before the access climb to the main straight.
“It’s difficult, because it’s at home, in front of my country, in front of my family. It’s definitely the worst day of my life, to be honest. We always want to represent our country, but it’s part of the learning process. I’ll keep working and, God willing, next time it will be better,” he said.
Afterwards, Bortoleto tried to soften it. “I’m not going to come here and point the finger at him, at myself, whatever. I had overtaken Colapinto, I was side by side with Stroll, he was on the hard compound, he had less traction”, he explained.
This was Bortoleto’s second accident this weekend. On Saturday (8), he lost control and crashed hard on the last lap of the sprint, at the end of the main straight.
Despite emerging from the accident unharmed, the car was heavily damaged. Sauber was unable to make the necessary repairs for the Brazilian to participate in the qualifying session. Therefore, the option was to start from the pits.
The São Paulo GP had Lando Norris as the winner this Sunday (9). The McLaren driver extended his advantage at the top of the championship. Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, and Max Verstappen, from Red Bull, completed the podium in second and third places, respectively.
