Home hero Gabriel Bortoleto arrived at the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday with girlfriend Isabella ‘Isa’ Bernardini. This comes a day after the couple was spotted having dinner with some veteran figures of the sport, including Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
F1 photographer and content creator Kym Illman shared images of Bortoleto and Bernardini arriving in the Interlagos paddock on Friday via Instagram.
Bortoleto and Bernardini have been dating since early 2020. The young couple hails from Brazil. Bernardini is a computer science graduate from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. She completed her degree earlier this year in September.
A day before they arrived together at the Interlagos track, Bortoleto and Bernardini were spotted having dinner with a handful of F1 elders. This included Wolff, former driver Ralf Schumacher and Audi F1 CEO Mattia Binotto. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto also joined the party in Sao Paulo.
Gabriel Bortoleto Looking to Right His Wrongs At Home Race in Brazil
Speaking to the media ahead of the Brazilian GP, Bortoleto said he wants to make amends for his poor home race last year. He explained that crashing in 2025 in front of his home crowd wasn’t ‘ideal’.
“Yeah, it means a lot, especially after last year. For me, it was not the ideal race because obviously my crash was very big here. And yeah, first time at home, you have a crash like that, it’s never good, also in front of my whole country,” Bortoleto said.
“But this year, it’s different. I’m coming with a new project, obviously same team but different names and power unit, car, and it’s been a very good year so far. We have been delivering very good results and I just want to enjoy home, enjoy a new weekend in Brazil and hopefully be able to drive in front of my country a little bit more than I did last year,” he added.
In 2025, Bortoleto crashed out of the sprint race before suffering the same fate in the race, which lasted just 10 corners on his home debut.
Gabriel Bortoleto Will Race With Special Ayrton Senna Tribute Helmet at the Brazilian GP
Bortoleto has also revealed a special helmet design for the Brazilian GP, which features the likeness of the legendary Ayrton Senna on the top and back of it. The helmet pays homage to Senna’s win at the 1991 Brazilian GP 35 years ago.
“A special helmet for the most special race of the year 🇧🇷 I wanted to pay tribute to my idol Senna, 35 years since his most remarkable victory in Brazil. Marking resilience and that you should never give up on your dreams! I can’t wait to run in front of my country 🇧🇷💚💙💛” Bortoleto wrote on Instagram.
On Thursday, Bortoleto revealed that he wanted to go with a different design for his home race than his usual yellow and blue helmet, which are the colors of the Brazilian flag. This is why he chose a black and white design, featuring images of Senna, whom he describes as his idol.
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