‘I’d have signed him already’ – Verstappen reveals who he’d choose for Sauber seat in 2025

The identity of Kick Sauber’s second driver for 2025 is yet to be announced, but Max Verstappen believes that F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto is the man the squad should sign to race alongside Nico Hulkenberg.
While Hulkenberg was announced back in April as joining the team next year ahead of their transition into being Audi’s works outfit in 2026, speculation has been continuing over who will partner the German, with the futures of current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both unclear.
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Another name linked to the seat is that of Bortoleto, the 20-year-old Brazilian who is part of the McLaren Driver Development programme. After winning the Formula 3 championship on his debut in 2023, Bortoleto has impressed so far in his first F2 campaign and currently leads the standings by 4.5 points from Isack Hadjar ahead of the final two rounds.
When quizzed about the young driver during Thursday’s press conference at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Verstappen expressed his view that Bortoleto would be the best option for Sauber ahead of a new set of technical regulations being introduced in the sport in 2026.
“If I was Sauber I would’ve signed him already,” said Verstappen. “Especially [because] that’s the future, young drivers, and ’26 [there will be a] big rule change.
“It’s always good to get used to a team already for a year, make your mistakes here and there, get integrated well, understand the car a bit. You always feel much more prepared and comfortable when you then start in ’26.”
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Oscar Piastri – who, like Bortoleto, won the F3 title on his first attempt, and also repeated that feat in F2 before then spending a year on the sidelines as Alpine’s test driver – also spoke positively about Bortoleto’s recent performances and suggested that the results warrant a place in Formula 1.
“I think he’s been doing a very impressive job, obviously [with] winning F3 as a rookie last year and now leading the championship in F2,” Piastri commented. “So yeah, I think from my point of view when you’re achieving those kinds of results you deserve to be in F1.
“I have the personal experience of the pain of not getting a seat, so for his sake I hope he doesn’t have to go through that. I don’t think anyone will ever go through quite the extent that I did!
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“I think he’s been doing a very good job, and if he’s doing it on merit then I think he deserves a place in F1.”