Emerson Fittipaldi admits he’s ‘surprised’ by how ‘impressive’ one 2025 F1 rookie has been

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Emerson Fittipaldi knows what it takes to be the best driver on the Formula 1 grid and to race against them, having won two drivers’ championships in his legendary career.

The Brazilian secured his maiden F1 drivers’ championship in the 1972 season with five wins from only 12 Grands Prix. Fittipaldi even denied Jackie Stewart that title by 16 points right in between the Briton’s second and third championships, before securing another title in 1974.

Taking the title in the 1974 F1 season also saw Fittipaldi become the first driver to win a title for McLaren, as he beat Clay Regazzoni by just three points to add to the Sao Paulo native’s title with Team Lotus. Fittipaldi ultimately won 14 of his 144 career F1 Grand Prix starts, too.

Yet even a legendary driver of Fittipaldi’s standard has been ‘surprised’ by the performances that one rookie on the 2025 grid has achieved so far. F1 welcomed its largest class of rookies since 2010 with six new stars, which also then became seven in terms of full-season rookies.

Gabriel Bortoleto has ‘surprised’ Emerson Fittipaldi with his rookie results for Sauber

Red Bull put two rookies in the 2025 field with Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, who are now teammates at Racing Bulls. Haas, Mercedes and Sauber also added Oliver Bearman, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto, while Alpine ran Jack Doohan before Franco Colapinto.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know

Sauber welcomed Bortoleto to Hinwil, Switzerland as Audi signed the Brazilian to a two-year contract to help shape the team’s transition into the German giant’s works crew in 2026. But Fittipaldi did not expect Bortoleto to enjoy the sort of early impact that the 20-year-old has.

Bortoleto’s career-best P6 finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix especially impressed Fittipaldi, with the Osasco, Sao Paulo native also qualifying a career-best P7. It marked the third time that Bortoleto reached Q3 and also the third time he had scored a point through 14 rounds.

Fittipaldi told Motorsport.com: “I think everybody is surprised, to be honest. The last race was amazing, if you see where he was running with that Sauber. I think he did a fantastic performance in both, qualifying and the race. It’s very impressive to see.

“I’ve known him since he started racing in karting. He has always been a very good driver. But I think in Formula 1, he’s at the next level now. And, also, we shouldn’t forget Nico Hulkenberg. He is very quick. I think it helps Gabriel a lot to have a good reference.”

Gabriel Bortoleto is the fourth-highest scoring rookie on the 2025 F1 grid

Bortoleto’s P6 finish in the Hungarian GP prior to the summer break marked his third points-paying result through the past four rounds. Sauber saw the 2023 FIA F3 and 2024 F2 rookie champion secure his maiden points in Formula 1 with P8 in the Austrian Grand Prix in June.

His agent and mentor Fernando Alonso called Bortoleto the “best rookie of his generation” after the Hungarian GP, as well, after following the 2005 and 2006 F1 champion in the early laps. Bortoleto held Max Verstappen off in Hungary, too, before acing his one-stop strategy.

The eight points Bortoleto scored in Hungary moved him to 14 for the season so far, which also makes the Sauber star the fourth-highest scoring rookie on the 2025 F1 grid. Antonelli, thanks to driving for Mercedes, leads the way on 64, ahead of Hadjar (22) and Lawson (20).