Gabriel Bortoleto admits he’s ‘learning so much’ from Lando Norris in team meetings

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Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto has shared what driver Lando Norris is doing in McLaren team meetings right now.

Bortoleto was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast in the aftermath of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The young Brazilian is one of the most exciting talents in single-seater motor racing right now.

F3 is one of the most difficult championships for young drivers to win on the way to Formula 1.

Instead of F1 and Formula 2, there are 30 drivers instead of the conventional 20 in the top two series right now.

It means every team has three drivers, meaning that even if you have the fastest car, you’ve still got two rivals to fight against.

Gabriel Bortoleto hasn’t always had the fastest car this season at Trident, but he’s been impressively consistent.

McLaren spotted Bortoleto’s talent and now he’s benefitting from working much closer to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The teenager has now shared what Norris is like in team meetings and how he works with his engineers.

Despite only being 23, he’s already providing some very important information on his car.

Bortoleto learning from Norris during team meetings

Asked about Norris after his second-place finish in Brazil, Bortoleto said: “He did an amazing job today, nothing to say. He has been very impressive the whole weekend.

“I’ve been part of the meetings of the team and I’ve been learning so much this weekend, especially with him.

“He goes so much into details and he’s so precise on everything he says and I’m proud that I have the possibility to be part of McLaren for Interlagos Grand Prix because he’s shown why he’s able to almost match [Max] Verstappen today.

“He has done an amazing job. He’s the type of guy that speaks a lot in the debriefs but it’s just very important information.

“It’s not like he keeps talking with no important information for the team or something that will not help the team to get better and better.

“He says that the car is having a problem, but at the same time, he managed to say why, so the team can attack the right way.

“I think this is very good about him and it was very impressive and for sure it will change my mindset in my next races.”

Bortoleto might be learning a lot from Norris in McLaren’s team meetings, but he’s not necessarily his hero on the grid.

Instead, he highlighted another driver as a ‘legend’ on the track right now.

McLaren will almost certainly find a drive in Formula 2 for Bortoleto in 2024 after winning F3 as he continues his journey towards F1.

It’s an incredibly difficult series to win, but McLaren have proven by hiring Piastri that they take success at that level very seriously.