Sauber rookie Bortololeto looks forward to battling 'good friend' Verstappen

As a rookie, Gabriel Bortoleto had a tough start to the season, but the Brazilian is increasingly finding his rhythm in recent weeks. With a seventh starting position, he is in sight of a few points at the Hungarian Grand Prix, provided he can deal with the likes of Max Verstappen (eighth).

It's no secret that Verstappen and Bortoleto get along extraordinarily well. The talent - reigning champion in Formula 2 - is regularly found near the Dutchman; soaking up all tips and information from Verstappen.

Exciting battle with Verstappen expected

Usually, Verstappen is far ahead of him on the grid, but in Hungary, Bortoleto has the upper hand so far. A big battle is therefore imminent: ''It's always difficult to keep Max behind,'' Bortoleto responds to a question from GPblog.

''If he wants to overtake, it's going to be a big fight for sure. I don’t know is his car, in the race pace. We were quite competitive but everything can change.''

''Obviously I'm excited to fight with him tomorrow because he's a good friend of mine. I've been learning a lot with him recently so maybe we have some nice overtakes tomorrow.''

Gabriel Bortoleto starting in front of Max Verstappen

Bortoleto amazed at performances

For Bortoleto, the seventh spot is a great result - after a challenging time in this championship. At the Hungaroring, everything falls into place: ''There's no secret (why it works now) It's working and I feel like we had the worst start of the weekend possible.''

''On Friday, I was zero comfortable with the car and struggling a lot with the balance and off pace I would say. Being able to maximise today, put the car in the right window and deliver a Q3 again and a P7 has been something very special that I'm proud of.''

''Weekends like this motivate me a lot and they make me a better driver because you need to keep your head down and working.''

The mechanics at Sauber worked longer than normally permitted to work on the car and it didn't go unnoticed: ''We broke curfew for fixing things in the car and studying a lot of things that we should do for today and it paid off,'' Bortoleto concludes.

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