RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Gabriel Bortoleto has strongly argued that Formula 1 drivers “should be able to adapt” to any machinery, refuting the idea that the 2026 cars are clashing with driving styles.
This year has seen a switch to more electrical machinery with a 47-53 split against the internal combustion engine, causing a different style of racing as battery management is key.
Terms like superclipping have emerged, whereas the Belgian Grand Prix saw Oscar Piastri get caught out by the power unit’s “self-learning elements” that take control away from a driver.
So he called it a “pretty crap way of going racing” and this view is in line with the majority of drivers, who’ve so far disliked the new ruleset, causing changes to be implemented for 2027.
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But Bortoleto has come out on the defence by arguing “motorsport shouldn’t be about only one way of driving”, the traditional style taught in karts by going slow in and fast out of a corner.
“I don't think I changed much my way of driving,” said Bortoleto in Hungary last time out. “But again, I don't like the sentence ‘driving style’, because I don't believe that a Formula 1 driver should ever say that.
“We should be able to adapt, even if it's not natural maybe, but we should be able to adapt to any type of car and the way you need to drive, that's why we do what we do and that's why we are the 22 drivers in the world doing Formula 1.
“I think it's just a matter of what car you have and how you need to drive them. I think from last year I didn't change much the way to drive, but obviously you fine-tune a bit here and there, you know how the energy deploys out of some corners, so you know if you can push more the entry and you care about less on the exit, because there is no energy being deployed there.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
“Or if you actually need to be a bit more careful on the entry, because there is going to be a long straight and a lot of energy being deployed, so you need to change, like last year was always constant, so you didn't have to do so.”
It comes amid the debate that the new cars make drivers less in control, with Piastri being a prime example of that, alongside Lando Norris ’ ‘forced overtake’ on Lewis Hamilton in Japan.
But those world-class drivers are still towards the top of the championship and maximising what’s at their disposal, with Norris and Hamilton both claiming victories this year.
So Bortoleto claims that the cream has still risen to the top, just like in any era of F1, regardless of what car might suit what particular kind of driving.
“Do you see Verstappen being slow? Do you see a seven-time world champion being slow this year? Do you see Leclerc being slow? I don't see them being slow,” argued the Audi driver.
“I still see them very competitive, so I wouldn't say fast drivers are slow actually. Lewis is a bit better than he was doing last year; Max is still performing like crazy, putting that car on the top; Lando, the world champion, the reigning world champion, he's still quick.
“It's the truth, so I don't think we have seen slow drivers last year becoming quick and the quick guys slow, I think it's still racing.”
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