Junior champion was ‘actually talking’ to Sauber about 2025 seat during the Dutch Grand Prix

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Sauber are in a world of trouble this season and after 15 race weekends look no closer to scoring their first point of the year.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are racing for their Formula 1 futures with neither driver signed up for 2025.

They know that they won’t be teammates again after three seasons alongside each other with Nico Hulkenberg always signed from Haas for next season.

There are only three seats left to fill on next season’s grid but Sauber’s second seat is realistically the only one available to drivers outside of those current teams.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

Mercedes will announce Kimi Antonelli as their next driver any day now and Red Bull will hire from within to solve their RB conundrum.

However, the likes of Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon rejected moves to Sauber next year given their recent struggles.

Speaking on the UOL Esporte YouTube channel, journalist Julianne Cerasoli shared an update on one young driver hoping to convince Sauber to take a chance on him.

Audi’s new head of their Formula 1 project Mattia Binotto has a very difficult decision to make.

Bottas is in pole position to stay at Sauber but McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto has spotted a potential opportunity to step up into F1.

Bortoleto was talking to Sauber across the Dutch Grand Prix weekend as he sounded out his options for next year.

The 19-year-old is extremely talented but sitting in the academy of the one team who could realistically stay with their current line-up for the next decade.

Gabriel Bortoleto was ‘actually talking’ with Sauber during the Dutch Grand Prix

Providing an update on the driver’s market from the Zandvoort paddock, Cerasoli said: “The Formula 1 grid for 2025 is almost complete and there is a Brazilian driver trying to get into the Sauber team that will become the Audi factory team from 2026.

“He is Gabriel Bortoleto and I checked during this weekend here in Zandvoort at the Dutch Grand Prix where F1 held the race.

“And he [Bortoleto] is actually talking to Sauber and is trying to put himself in the best possible light to be on the grid in 2025.

“He is only 19 years old and is in his first year in Formula 2 and is the current Formula 3 champion and also a young driver for McLaren.”

Cerasoli went on to explain that F1 teams are more interested in how young drivers perform in private tests rather than junior series.

Bortoleto is going to do a private test later this year and Cerasoli explains that there’s a chance he does an FP1 session before the end of the year, but it’s an area where he doesn’t have much experience.

The journalist then says that after speaking to a lot of people in the paddock, Bottas is still the favourite to retain his Sauber seat for 2025.

Gabriel Bortoleto is one of the most talented young drivers outside of Formula 1

It’s been suggested in Brazil that Bortoleto has a strong chance to sign for Audi next year, although the desire for another Brazilian to be on the F1 grid makes that assertion rather predictable.

Rubens Barrichello recently congratulated Franco Colapinto on his F1 promotion as he becomes the latest South American to make the step up.

Bortoleto won several karting championships in Brazil before embarking on the traditional path of racing in Europe before making the step up to Formula 3.

Strong performances in the Italian F4 Championship and FRECA led to winning F3 during his debut season last year with Trident.

He only won two races that year but his level of consistency was clear to see and has immediately transferred into his maiden Formula 2 campaign.

With eight races left, Bortoleto is 36 points behind championship leader Isack Hadjar meaning he could follow in the footsteps of Oscar Piastri in winning both series in his first year if he ends the season strongly.

Sauber might have already decided who will partner Hulkenberg by then, but Bortoleto would leave his McLaren contract for an F1 race seat.