During the final stages of qualifying, Gabriel Bortoleto cheered on his Max Verstappen in the media pen.
As the Sauber driver spoke to the media, including GPblog, he also anxiously watched Q3. The Brazilian himself finished in P13 this Saturday.
Verstappen encouraged by Bortoleto
Verstappen performed better than expected in his RB21 after three difficult free practice sessions in Zandvoort.
He fought for third place throughout the entire session, with George Russell as his main competitor. Bortoleto was even hoping for more, pole position.
“F****”, the rookie commented when he saw that Verstappen fell short of starting from the first row of the grid.
At the press conference after the session, Verstappen was told how Bortoleto cheered him on, which brought a smile to his face.
Asked about the tips he gives to the rookie, he answered: “Yeah. I mean, I’ve said it before — we do some driving on the simulator. I think I even shared with him the track model that I use for Zandvoort. So, I’m sure that he did quite a lot of laps.”
The four-time world champion also explained what are the tips he gave Bortoleto, before the Brazilian drove on the Dutch track for the first time.
"We naturally always speak about things and tricks and what to do in F1 because I don’t think he had driven here before in F1.
"He’s a great guy, and we get along very well. And I think, again today, he had a very good qualifying himself. So, I guess what he’s doing is working well,” Verstappen concluded.
After qualifying in P3 on home soil, Verstappen had to fear for the position he achieved for a while.
The Dutchman was investigated by the stewards because he drove too slow after the end of the session. The stewards have now made a decision: you can read it here.
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