As the drivers began their last lap at Interlagos, Bortoleto was fighting with Alex Albon for 10th place in front of his home crowd. But as he braked for Turn 1, his Sauber suddenly swerved towards the pit wall, narrowly missing Albon’s car. The Sauber then became airborne, hit the barriers, and finally came to rest on the run-off area at Turn 2. The car was badly damaged and smoking after multiple impacts.

Bortoleto immediately underwent medical checks from the FIA, as the crash had broken his steering column. Thankfully, he was cleared to take part in qualifying. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s Team Principal and Bortoleto’s former boss, expressed his relief. “You’re reassuring me that Gabriel is okay because I couldn’t see properly, but that’s very good news,” he told Sky F1. “Gabriel has been a McLaren Academy driver, so we are very close to him. Good to see him safe.”

The crash left Sauber with the huge task of rebuilding the car in just a few hours before qualifying for Sunday’s race. Despite the damage, the team managed to carry out repairs in time.

A statement from Stake F1 confirmed: “Following precautionary checks at the circuit’s Medical Centre, we are pleased to report that Gabriel Bortoleto is ok and uninjured. The team would like to thank the marshals, F1, the FIA, and the Medical Centre staff for their superb care. We will now focus on preparing the cars for this afternoon’s qualifying session.”