‘Facts stronger than words’ - Fernando Alonso defends Gabriel Bortoleto

Fernando Alonso has leapt to the defence of Gabriel Bortoleto in the wake of criticism from Red Bull’s Helmut Marko.

Asked to assess F1 2025’s rookie crop, Marko gave Bortoleto a “B” rating as he placed the drivers into three categories, while including Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar in the “A” group.

Bortoleto earned an F1 seat with Sauber after winning back-to-back titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2, where he beat new Racing Bulls driver Hadjar by 22.5 points.

And two-time world champion Alonso has strongly backed the 20-year-old Brazilian who is signed to his A14 management stable in response to Marko’s comments.

“I think Helmut has to defend his drivers,” Alonso said. “I think the facts are a little bit stronger than Helmut’s words.

“I think maybe it refers to last year’s F2 [championship] with Isack and Gabriel. They finished 1-2, they both have incredible talent, and they both are in F1, which is a great sign. Let’s see what the future brings.

“I hope for both to have a very long and successful career, but what Gabriel did, winning F3 and F2 in his rookie seasons… I think the future will tell, but I’m happy and proud of Gabriel.”

How Bortoleto responded to Marko 

Bortoleto gave a firm but respectful answer when he was asked to give his thoughts on Marko’s verdict.

“I think Helmut is a guy that is for a very long time in F1,” he said. “He has put a lot of very talented drivers in F1 in the past, but he also put probably more drivers that failed to be in F1.

“I have – to be honest – respect for him, for the achievements with the drivers that he put [in F1]. Max Verstappen, for me, is one of the greatest of the sport.

“Everyone can have opinions. We live in a free world. I think he has his opinions about me. I think I proved myself to be in F1. I won F3 and F2 as a rookie.”

Bortoleto vowed to prove Marko wrong and make him “regret what he said”.

“I’m going to prove him wrong with time,” he continued. “It’s just a matter of time. Nothing I can say to the media right now will change his mind, because he’s just talking and talking.

“The only thing I can do now is head to the track and prove that his argument was wrong. Hopefully, with time, he will admit, ‘OK, my opinion wasn’t right’, and he will regret what he said.

“But I’ve done this in the past as well. I’ve said things probably that I regret and I don’t agree [with] nowadays. It’s normal. I’m not going to make a big thing about it.”