Highly-rated £1.4m-a-year F1 driver’s fans are now being prepared for 2026 to be very disappointing

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The 2026 Formula 1 season could be a painful experience for one of the most impressive young drivers on the grid this year.

The upcoming Formula 1 regulation changes are set to have a huge impact on the pecking order next year.

Hopes are high for Mercedes’ power unit in 2026, while the likes of Red Bull and Audi, currently Sauber, are building their own engines for the first time ahead of next season.

Until pre-season testing starts in January, it’s hard to know exactly who is going to be the team to beat.

However, the number of personnel who move between teams and talk about their previous employers have meant that certain details have been mooted in the Formula 1 paddock.

The F1 driver market has been quiet this year, but it will become a big topic of discussion for 2027 as teams and drivers try to put themselves in the best position for the next era of the sport.

One driver who could end up being in the centre of that is Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

The highly-rated Brazilian has been superb this season, but Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli has admitted she’s already pre-warning fans in Bortoleto’s home country that next season might be very painful.

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

Audi have concerns over their 2026 power unit which is bad news for Gabriel Bortoleto

It was put to Cerasoli on the Nailing the Apex Podcast that Audi shouldn’t be any worse than Sauber going into next season, and she said: “I do!

“I do because of the engine. I think with the engine they are going to start behind, and I’m starting to prepare the audience, the Brazilian audience, because when they see him [Bortoleto], oh, he’s not in Q3 anymore.

“He’s lost his talent and everything. You can imagine what’s going to come, and we were hearing this.”

The £1.4m-a-year Brazilian driver started the season slowly, but has since gone on to prove himself up against his far more experienced teammate, Nico Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg’s maiden F1 podium at Silverstone means he has a significant lead in the drivers’ championship.

However, Bortoleto has been far stronger in qualifying this year, and with eight races to go, will have his sights set on consistently scoring points between now and Abu Dhabi.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

How Gabriel Bortoleto reacted to Sauber chief Jonathan Wheatley mentioning him in the same breath as Ayrton Senna

Brazil haven’t had a full-time Formula 1 driver since Felipe Massa, and Bortoleto has a long way to go before he matches his achievements.

Massa came within several corners of becoming Brazil’s latest F1 world champion, and it’ll be interesting to see when Bortoleto gets his opportunity to start fighting for race wins.

Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley has been very complimentary about the 20-year-old this season.

Wheatley called Bortoleto the ‘real deal’, which meant a lot to his young driver, considering that he previously worked alongside Ayrton Senna.

Sauber could finish as high as fifth in the constructors’ championship if results go their way during the final eight race weekends of the season.

It sounds like Bortoleto and Brazil are going to have to temper their expectations for 2026, though, if Audi’s power unit isn’t up to scratch.