Jonathan Wheatley Calls Senna-Inspired Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto ‘the Real Deal’

• Gabriel Bortoleto, the 21-year-old from Sao Paulo, races for Audi in 2026 and models himself on Ayrton Senna, wearing helmet colours that echo his fellow Brazilian.
• He reached Formula 1 having won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in his debut seasons, and was named the 2024 FIA Rookie of the Year.
• Team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who worked with Michael Schumacher and was in Formula 1 during Senna’s era, has called Bortoleto “the real deal.”

Gabriel Bortoleto arrived in Formula 1 carrying one of the heaviest associations in the sport: the expectation that surrounds any young Brazilian seen as a potential heir to Ayrton Senna. Rather than avoid the comparison, the 21-year-old from Sao Paulo has embraced it, racing in helmet colours that deliberately echo his late countryman.

Bortoleto has been open about idolising Senna above all others, while also citing Michael Schumacher as a source of inspiration. He drives for Audi in 2026, the works team that grew out of Sauber, alongside the experienced German Nico Hulkenberg.

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A Senna-inspired Brazilian

Senna remains a towering figure in Brazil more than three decades after his death in 1994. A triple world champion, also from Sao Paulo, he is woven into the culture of Brazilian motorsport, and the country has long looked for a driver to follow him to the front of Formula 1.

Bortoleto grew up with that story and has chosen to reference it directly, running a helmet design that calls back to Senna’s. He has described Senna as his greatest idol while also pointing to Schumacher’s approach as something he tries to learn from.

A standout junior record

Bortoleto reached Formula 1 with an unusually strong junior record. He won the Formula 3 title and then the Formula 2 title in his debut seasons in each category, a feat managed by only a handful of drivers, and was named the FIA Rookie of the Year in 2024.

That route, winning back to back in the main feeder series at the first attempt, was also taken by Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri before they went on to become Grand Prix winners and front-running drivers. Bortoleto came through the McLaren driver development programme before moving to Sauber, the squad now racing as Audi.

“The real deal”

One of the most notable endorsements has come from his team principal, Jonathan Wheatley, who described Bortoleto as “the real deal” and praised his work ethic and his capacity to take on new information.

Wheatley’s view carries some history. The 58-year-old worked with Michael Schumacher at Benetton and was in Formula 1 during Senna’s era, when the Brazilian raced for McLaren and Williams. Bortoleto said it was “amazing” to receive such a compliment from someone who had been around so many of the sport’s greats, noting that a person who had worked at that level had then turned around and called him the real deal.

Settling into Formula 1 with Audi

Bortoleto’s results so far reflect a rookie building steadily in midfield machinery rather than a driver delivering instant headlines. He scored 19 points to finish 19th in the standings during his 2025 debut season, and added to his career tally early in 2026.

He has spoken about the prospect of his home race in Brazil as “insane,” a reflection of the attention he attracts there. Away from the track, he has offered more down-to-earth glimpses of his life, including sim racing with rivals such as Max Verstappen and, in one light-hearted detail, a tendency to feel the cold on planes. As part of Audi’s long-term project, he is positioned as a driver to develop alongside the manufacturer rather than one judged on a single season.

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Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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