The Return of a Brazilian in F1
A few days after the conclusion of the São Paulo Grand Prix, Sauber officially announced that it would end its partnership with its current lineup of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for 2025. As a result, neither driver will race alongside Nico Hülkenberg, with the Hinwil-based team instead promoting Gabriel Bortoleto, a Brazilian born in 2004 who won the Formula 3 title as a rookie in 2023 and is currently in contention for this year’s Formula 2 title, again as a rookie.
His Countrymen Before Him
This news is a definite highlight for Brazilian fans, who haven’t seen a countryman compete in F1 since 2020 with Pietro Fittipaldi. The grandson of world champion Emerson, Fittipaldi’s time in F1 was brief, as he was recruited by Haas to replace the injured Romain Grosjean following his terrifying accident in Sakhir. To find a Brazilian with a more continuous F1 presence, one has to go back to 2015-2016 with Felipe Nasr. Coincidentally, he also raced with Sauber during those seasons, impressing with a 5th place finish on his debut in Australia, which became his best-ever result. Among the 31 Brazilian drivers who have raced in Formula 1, Rubens Barrichello holds the record for the most appearances, with a total of 323 races, placing him within the top five in this category. Barrichello, a former Ferrari driver and Michael Schumacher’s teammate during Ferrari’s early 2000s golden era, amassed an impressive career.
Wins and World Champions
Rubens Barrichello is also one of six Brazilian drivers to have reached the top of the F1 podium, with 11 victories, sharing this achievement with another former Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa. Carlos Pace is a unique case; in 1975, he achieved his first pole position and victory (the latter in Brazil), both of which would be his only ones. The 1970s were particularly successful for Brazil, thanks to the achievements of Emerson Fittipaldi, who won world titles in 1972 and 1974, becoming the first of three Brazilians to reach the sport’s highest honor.
In the 1980s, Nelson Piquet would also claim the title three times (1981, 1983, and 1987), a record later matched by one of the most beloved drivers not just among Brazilians but globally: Ayrton Senna. Known as “Magic,” Senna remains the Brazilian driver with the most wins, pole positions, and podiums (41 wins and 65 podiums), achievements he secured in the 1980s and early 1990s before his tragic death at Imola in 1994.
National Heroes
Ayrton Senna, who was world champion in 1988, 1990, and 1991, all with McLaren, became a national hero, especially in 1991 when he won at Interlagos despite facing gearbox issues. Other drivers who managed to win in front of their home crowd include the aforementioned Pace, as well as Fittipaldi, Piquet (who triumphed at Jacarepaguá instead of Interlagos), Felipe Massa, and Ayrton Senna himself, with each achieving victory on home soil twice.
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