After suffering a severe accident during Saturday’s sprint race, which ruled him out of qualifying, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoletto (Sauber) was forced to start from the pits on Sunday at the Autodromo de Interlagos. For the first time competing in a Formula 1 Grand Prix at home, the driver didn’t even have time to get excited. Still on the first lap, shortly after the start, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) touched him and hit the wall, a crash that took him out of the race.
Then the safety car had to be activated.
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The cold shower was not only reserved for the driver and team – who had to put the car back together – but also for the Brazilians, who carried posters bearing images of Bortoletto, as well as Brazilian flags. This will be the first time, since 2017, that a Brazilian has raced on his home turf in Formula 1: the last was Felipe Massa.
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