Gabriel Bortoleto explained how his decision to fit slick tires at the start of the British Grand Prix led to his premature retirement, with the Brazilian admitting he made a mistake in changing conditions.<\/p>\n
While the majority of the drivers were preparing to start on intermediate tires \u2013 after several scattered showers at Silverstone in the hours leading up to the race \u2013 a few, including Gabriel Bortoleto, chose to pit at the end of the formation lap to switch to slicks.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Sauber driver set off again on medium tires but lost control after only a few laps, ending up in the gravel before managing to get going again. A piece of his front wing remained close to the track, prompting the deployment of yellow flags, and Gabriel Bortoleto eventually parked his car, triggering a virtual safety car.<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on the incident, the Brazilian explained: It’s not complicated, it’s very simple what happened. I made a mistake, I chose to switch to medium slicks.<\/p>\n
I thought the track would dry quickly with all the wind we’ve had this week and the sun at that moment. I thought it was the right decision, I also didn’t expect it to rain afterwards. I said to myself: ‘Let’s go, maybe we can gain some positions’, he explains.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Then, on the restart, it was very tricky, very little grip. I put the power down exiting turn 1, the car snapped, I tried to correct but couldn’t manage it. I hit the wall with the rear wing, it was slightly damaged, so I preferred to stop on the track to avoid leaving debris. And that was the end of the race for me. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Despite this difficult ending, Gabriel Bortoleto still had something to be happy about: Nico H\u00fclkenberg offered Sauber his very first F1 podium by finishing in 3rd place, a result the young Brazilian enthusiastically celebrated.<\/p>\n
“It’s a very special day for me, for the team,” smiled the 20-year-old driver. “I love working with Nico, for me, he’s one of the most talented drivers I’ve ever met.”<\/p>\n
\u00ab He is clearly the best teammate I’ve ever had, at all levels: as a person, as a driver, everything. And he deserves it. He works hard, he invests tremendously. This year, he has put in exceptional races, and he deserves this podium. It’s just incredible. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Thanks to this result, Sauber climbs to 6th place in the constructors’ championship with 41 points<\/b>, five more than Racing Bulls and Aston Martin, which are respectively 7th and 8th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gabriel Bortoleto’s race at the British Grand Prix came to a premature end when the Sauber driver spun out after just a few laps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":46193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[412,484,1417],"class_list":["post-32207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-gabriel-bortoleto","tag-grand-prix-de-grande-bretagne","tag-sauber"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n