REFS’ chief Howard Webb has conceded the penalty decision that sealed Erik ten Hag’s fate at Manchester United WAS wrong.
When United played at West Ham on October 27, VAR Michael Oliver recommended that match referee David Coote go to the monitor after Hammers’ Danny Ings went down in the box following an 87th-minute skirmish with Matthijs de Ligt.
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Howard Webb has admitted penalty should not have been given for the challenge on IngsCredit: Rex
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The decision contributed to Ten Hag’s sackingCredit: Getty
West Ham were not appealing for a penalty but to the disbelief of De Ligt and his team-mates, Coote reversed his decision and pointed to the spot.
Jarrod Bowen smashed home the penalty, sending United plunging to their fourth Prem defeat of the season and Ten Hag was sacked the next morning.
Now it has emerged that PGMOL chief Webb accepted Oliver should not have intervened and urged Coote to overturn his decision.
And the Prem’s Key Match Incident panel — made up of former players, managers and referees — are also believed to have determined the final decision was an error and the initial call should have stood.
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The revelation will add fuel to Ten Hag’s fire after he was left furious by the crucial incident, suggesting it was the second shocker his side had suffered this season.
Ten Hag also referred to Bruno Fernandes’ red card during the 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham in September — which was overturned by the FA on appeal — as a critical call that wrongly went against his United team.
However, Ten Hag did not mention Lisandro Martinez’s two-footed tackle in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace the previous weekend.
Many experts suggested that the defender should have been dismissed rather than merely booked.
Even so, Webb’s admission, which is expected to be made public in a week during the next edition of the monthly Mic’d Up refereeingreview show, will only serve to justify Ten Hag’s feeling that he was the victim of poor calls which ultimately cost him his job.
Particularly after the Premier League claimed sufficient contact was made on Ings.
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A statement after the match said: “The referee did not award a penalty to West Ham for a challenge by De Ligt on Ings.
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“The VAR deemed there was sufficient contact on Ings’ lower leg and recommended an on-field review.
“The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.”
We look at six of the biggest storylines from the first half of the 2024 NFL season from the best and worst performers to who shows signs of being play-off dark horses.
“They’ve turned that around quickly” an impressed colleague said to this writer on entering the media centre at the Jarama Circuit on Tuesday morning, as a banner reading “2024/25 Madrid Official Testing” was being erected.
While the sight of a banner might seem like one of the least impressive feats at a race track, the quick turnaround of the wording perfectly encapsulated the mighty effort and great lengths at which Formula E has gone to in order to ensure pre-season testing takes place this week and, at the time of writing at least, without issue.
With more than 200 killed, many still missing, and infrastructure ravaged by flash flooding, the championship had a moral obligation not to go ahead with four days of running at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
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“The test was kind of a second thought. We were there to try to help the community, to try to serve them and trying to get back to normality as soon as possible. That was the top priority of Formula E,” championship co-founder, Alberto Longo, told Motorsport.com.
“There was no chance that [testing] could have happened. I believe that operationally, it was doable, but it was more on the sense of we couldn’t be taking resources out of that city, at that particular moment where there are still people missing.”
Decision to cancel made, attention immediately turned to whether an alternative could be found at such short notice and “how do we get approximately 100 tonnes of equipment from Valencia to any track in the south of Europe and within a time frame of 72 hours”, adds Longo.
Despite the events of the past week, Formula E has been able to deliver a pre-season test to schedule
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
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With its relatively close connections to Valencia, being only 350km (or an approximately four-hour drive) away, on-site infrastructure and a FIA Grade 2 homologation, Jarama was the first and realistically only choice, and an agreement was quickly reached with the circuit operators.
While teams had avoided getting equipment stuck in the Valencia region and able to relocate relatively easily, this was not the case for Formula E as its entire logistical base is situated at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
Questions arose over whether it would even be possible to get supplies out of the city given the battered road connections, let alone whether it would be feasible in the short time available given the trouble in sourcing transport. In the end, some eight trucks made nearly 40 trips ferrying equipment through Spain to the country’s capital, the first only arriving at 11pm on Friday and the last at 3pm on Monday.
“At some point, even [last] Thursday, I was telling Jeff [Dodds, CEO] that we might not even do the first race because we have all the equipment there in Valencia” Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo
“We have a very positive attitude in Formula E, we have a lot of people that are fully committed to the company and they have worked 24/7 for three days, and the spirit was always very positive,” says Longo.
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“If you talk to the people in the ecosystem, they will all tell you that there is no chance that we will ever make it. Not because they don’t have trust in us, because I actually believe that they do, but because of the whole situation.
“You could just watch the TV and say how on earth are these guys going to get all the equipment to Madrid and have enough time to provide services to the level that we’re providing services today.”
Even with the infrastructure now in place at Jarama, another issue arose in the form of making sure the extra equipment which is needed to host a race was going to be available, without which the season-opener in Sao Paulo on 7 December would be at risk.
Championship co-founder Longo with Zane Maloney and Lucas Di Grassi at Jarama
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
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“We needed to bring absolutely every piece of equipment that we have in Valencia here in order to organise all the logistic for the races,” says Longo.
“At some point, even [last] Thursday, I was telling Jeff [Dodds, CEO] that we might not even do the first race because we have all the equipment there in Valencia and obviously that equipment is absolutely critical for Sao Paulo and Mexico.”
Formula E has been criticised over the last decade on its direction with regards to its racing and for various other aspects, some often warranted, but what has been achieved over the last few days has been nothing short of impressive, while at the same time not forgetting those who have suffered because of the floods in Valencia.
A minute’s silence was held before any running on Tuesday in honour of the victims, while a donation of €50,000 has been made by the championship to offer support, with a fundraising page created for others to make offerings.
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Perhaps somewhat ironically, Formula E’s DNA of trying to put on world championship races in the heart of cities across the globe has prepared it for the events of last week, allowing it to be fluid in how it deals with crisis maybe unlike any other championship.
“Operationally speaking, we have [dealt with] worse things than this one, there have been miracles in many other places in the world,” adds Longo. “Normally we race in the heart of the biggest cities of the world, with a lot of impact politically. You have seen some cancellation of events, all that is because of a political issue or challenge.
“We have never seen an issue in terms of operation. Why? Because we have an amazing team that can really deliver and this is the perfect example again.”
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As Formula E commences pre-season testing, it hasn’t forgotten the victims of the Valencia flooding
Week 9 is in the books, which means that the halfway point of the 2024 NFL season has arrived.
To mark the occasion, “The Facility” and the “NFL on FOX Podcast” each handed out awards and superlatives for the first nine weeks of the season. Let’s take a look at who they picked as the winners for each of the major awards!
McCoy: “This was a tough one because Pat is undefeated and Josh Allen’s playing elite. I’m going with Lamar Jackson. Winning those two MVPs was really hard to do, but [he’s] playing better than them MVP [seasons].”
Daniel: “This guy [Mahomes], he’s had his best two games the last two games. The Chiefs are heating up.”
Jones: “[Lamar] is the best player on the planet right now playing in the National Football League. The vote’s been in weeks ago.”
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Acho: “This one, for me, was difficult. Jared Goff leads the league in completion percentage. Jared Goff has the best offense in football. Jared Goff has the best team in the NFC, one of the best teams in the NFL.”
David Helman: “Lamar Jackson, absolutely incredible start to this season. It’s easy for me to believe he repeats as MVP if he keeps this up.”
McCoy: “Every year [Reid] wins over and over again, and we give him no acknowledgment because he’s a good coach? Well, that’s what the award’s for. He’s on pace for a three-peat.”
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Daniel: “[Quinn] has given them hope. He’s the leader of that franchise. In just nine games, you have turned in the complete opposite direction of where your franchise was headed. It helps when you have Jayden Daniels.”
Jones: “Nobody in the world thought the Minnesota Vikings would look like the way the Minnesota Vikings look, especially with Sam Darnold. And kudos to Sam Darnold, because you are playing really good football. But that has a lot to do with the coach and the game he is calling for you.”
Acho: “For me, it’s simple. I trust this person to lead — not just a country, but an organization. I trust this person to galvanize troops. I trust this person, though they lagged as a head coach before … now they’re showing me they’re ready to take over: Dan Quinn.”
McCoy: “I didn’t expect a rookie quarterback to do all of this. You trade all these players last year and you still have a good season.”
Daniel: “I like the Vikings. Sam Darnold, Kevin O’Connell, the most important hire Kevin O’Connell made was Brian Flores. And that defense, that’s the reason why they only have two losses right now.”
Jones: “Where did we expect [the Cardinals] to be right now? Not first! They’re not really good on defense. Kyler Murray’s just making plays at the end of the games to win football games. They are 5-4 right now, No. 1 in the West. Put respect on the little man, Kyler Murray.”
Acho: “The Washington Commanders, they are the oldest team in football. How are they 7-2? Their division was supposed to be the toughest and they were supposed to be at the bottom of it.”
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Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels & Bears headline NFL midseason awards
Daniel: “C’mon Bears, what are we doing? Even though they’re 4-4, the coaching has not been up to par. We need to get better. Everything they’ve done to build up this team and to surround Caleb Williams with stuff has been a disappointment.”
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Acho: “Nobody has broken more hearts, nobody has made more incompetent decisions on a week-in and week-out basis: Antonio Pierce.”
Helman: “If the Jets pull it together, not saying they will, but Aaron Rodgers is not playing poorly considering that he’s coming off the same injury.”
Helman: “If you’re asking me to predict the winner, that’s not the point of this. Lawrence is a deserving midseason Defensive Player of the Year. If he keeps this up, he is a deserving winner and I hope people can look past that Giants’ record to recognize that.”
Helman: “I think Derrick Henry is one of the defining stories in the NFL this year. I’d be really surprised if he tapers off. Passing game production can be finicky. Handing the ball off to Derrick Henry isn’t finicky.”
The former defender spent nine years at Stamford Bridge between 1969 and 1978.
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Chelsea legend John Dempsey passed away at the age of 78Credit: Alamy
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The former defender played 207 times for the BluesCredit: Rex Features
That saw him lift the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in back-to-back seasons for the Blues.
In fact, the centre-back scored “one of the crispest volleys seen from a Chelsea player” as the Blues beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the 1971 final replay in Greece.
In total, he scored seven goals in 207 games for the club, having joined from West London rivals Fulham where he started his career.
Chelsea announced his sad passing on Wednesday morning.
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The club said: “It is with tremendous sadness that Chelsea Football Club announces the passing of our former centre-back and FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup winner John Dempsey. He was 78.
“All at Chelsea send our heartfelt condolences to John’s wife Trish and all his family and friends at this difficult time.”
Dempsey had stints with the Serbian White Eagles and Philadelphia Fury in North America before finishing his career as player-manager at Dundalk in Ireland in 1984.
The defender became the first Irish player to be sent off in a World Cup qualifier when he saw red against Hungary before the 1970 tournament.
After his time in football, Dempsey spent time working as a carer supporting adults with autism and learning difficulties in North London.
Tributes poured in from the footballing world for Dempsey following his passing.
One fan said: “Sorry to hear about the death of John Dempsey. A very underrated centre half and as most of you will know a particular favourite of mine for his iconic hairstyles.”
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A second wrote: “Rest in peace legend.”
A third added: “With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to Chelsea legend John Dempsey. His legacy on the field and his contributions to our club will never be forgotten. Our deepest condolences to John’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
A fourth typed: “A true Chelsea legend who will never be forgotten.”
And a fifth replied: “Really sad to hear that Chelsea’s legendary 1970s centre-back John Dempsey has died. My ex-wife’s sister worked for the Philadelphia Fury team when he played there and stayed close to him. As a result I got to chat to him and found him to be a lovely, warm, humble man.”
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Dempsey started out at Fulham before making the short switch across West LondonCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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He scored in the final of the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup against Real MadridCredit: PA:Empics Sport
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Dempsey worked for local charities and supporting adults with autism and learning difficulties after footballCredit: Rex Features
He said in a video released by Sauber on Wednesday: “It will take a few seasons to become a a competitive team. Our objective will be to be aiming to fight for a championship in 2030, and even that is very ambitious.”
The team released separate statements thanking them for their work.
Bottas, who made his debut in F1 for Williams in 2013 and won 10 races in his five years at Mercedes as team-mate to Lewis Hamilton from 2017-21, said: “A situation like this is never easy for anyone. But after all the good and in-depth discussions we had in the past weeks, we realised that the conditions to grow this project together were not met.
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“These past years with the team have been an incredible journey, full of growth, challenges, and unforgettable moments.
“Though it’s time to move on, I’ll always carry a piece of this team with me, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for us both.”
Bortoleto gives Brazil a full-time presence on the F1 grid since Felipe Massa left the sport at the end of 2017.
The country is one of the most successful in F1, with former drivers including multiple world champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
After an extended period of mulling over its driving options for Formula 1’s 2025 season and beyond, Sauber had found itself in a binary choice between experience and youth. The Swiss outfit, which becomes Audi in 2026, has opted for the latter; Valtteri Bottas will leave the team at the end of the year, and F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto will join in the Finn’s place.
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Sauber’s hiring of the promising Bortoleto gives Brazil one of its own full-time F1 drivers to support since Felipe Massa left the grid at the end of 2017. Bortoleto joins an illustrious cast of names to hail from the South American nation: Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Carlos Pace, Rubens Barrichello, et al, and will hope to have the chance to thread his own legacy into F1’s rich tapestry – if he’s able to get up to speed and impress, of course.
This is the culmination of a whirlwind few years for Bortoleto, who scarcely featured on the radar of most in the F1 paddock until he started winning races in Formula 3 – and, eventually, the title – in his debut season. McLaren promptly snapped him up for its junior team, but was adamant that it would not stand in his way if an F1 seat became available. Thanks to his impressive performance in F2 this year, his first season in the second-tier category, that eventuality became more likely; should the Brazilian complete the F2-F3 double, he’ll join the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri to achieve that feat in recent years.
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With Sauber, a team which is expected to remain towards the back in 2025 as it focuses on its preparation for the new ’26 formula as Audi, Bortoleto has a low-pressure environment to learn his trade and a well-known benchmark in Nico Hulkenberg alongside him at the team.
Who is Gabriel Bortoleto?
Gabriel Bortoleto, Trident
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
For those less familiar with the Paulista, let’s start with his oeuvre in motorsport thus far. After racing in karts in both Brazil and Europe, he first stepped into the world of single-seaters with Prema for the 2020 Italian F4 season. He finished fifth that year in a season won by Alpine junior Gabriele Mini, but earned an immediate step up to the Formula Regional European Championship for its first year after merging with the Formula Renault Eurocup series.
His first year in a more powerful car was a trying one, joining Fernando Alonso’s FA Racing team – then in a partnership with MP Motorsport – and finished 15th overall. The highlight of that year was his second-place finish at the Red Bull Ring, where he crossed the line within three seconds of champion Gregoire Saucy. Bortoleto remained in touch with Alonso through his A14 management stable, but switched to the more competitive R-ace GP squad to finish sixth overall in his sophomore campaign – claiming two wins at Spa and Barcelona.
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Trident signed Bortoleto for the 2023 F3 season, but he was a relative outsider when it came to the pre-season title discourse; Prema was well-stocked with talent with a three-pronged front line of Paul Aron, Zak O’Sullivan and 2022 FRECA champion Dino Beganovic, MP Motorsport had future Williams driver Franco Colapinto on its books, Campos had second-year driver Pepe Marti, while Hitech had Mini, Sebastian Montoya and GB3 champion Luke Browning all vying for a title win.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Trident
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
In a competitive season, Bortoleto’s consistency won out. He picked up second on the grid for the opening round in Bahrain, from which he took victory in the feature race when polesitter Mini was slapped with a five-place penalty for a starting grid infringement. Next, Bortoleto took pole at the following Melbourne round; in the reversed-grid sprint he rose to sixth, but held his nerve from the front in Albert Park’s feature race to complete a lights-to-flag victory and take an early 20-point lead in the championship after four races.
Bortoleto did not win again in 2023, but never once relinquished the championship lead; the other title contenders took points off each other, while the Trident driver scored in every race between his Bahrain feature win in March and Hungary’s feature race in July. The streak ended with his retirement from the bizarre Spa-Francorchamps sprint, in which there were no consecutive laps of green-flag racing in damp conditions, as Dino Beganovic locked up at La Source and knocked Bortoleto’s left-rear tyre to cause a race-ending puncture. He only finished 11th in the feature race, entering the Monza finale 38 points clear of Aron in the title race.
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He subsequently wrapped the title up qualifying for the Monza round as Aron failed to get pole, and an impressive sprint race served as his victory lap after finishing second behind Colapinto. Aron’s Vitantonio Liuzzi tribute act into Turn 1 collected Jonny Edgar and Marti in the process, as the Estonian narrowly missed Bortoleto. From eighth, the newly-crowned champion carved his way through the field in the following 18 laps. The final pass on second-placed Mari Boya was a test of bravery; the Spaniard had him on the grass through Curva Grande, but Bortoleto held the line through the Variante della Roggia to complete the move.
Race winner Gabriel Bortoleto, Trident
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Earning McLaren support for his first year in F2, Bortoleto signed with the Invicta Racing outfit – formerly known as Virtuosi – to join Kush Maini at the squad. Perhaps needing more time to get its head around the new Dallara chassis, Invicta started the year more slowly versus the likes of Campos and Rodin. Bahrain was a solid first outing for Bortoleto, yielding points finishes in both races after the Sao Paulo native took pole for the feature race, but a four-race stretch of no points seemed to put his hopes of a first-year title on ice, starting with a crash in qualifying at Jeddah that set him out of contention in Saudi Arabia.
Two weeks later, and starting second in the Melbourne sprint, Bortoleto was collateral in the clash between Red Bull juniors Isack Hadjar and Marti, when Hadjar swiped across the pair of them off the line. Hydraulic issues then yielded another retirement in the feature race Down Under.
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Bortoleto stalled the poor luck with a feature race pole at the Imola round in May, taking second in Sunday’s race, and repeated that position in Monaco’s sprint race a week later. It took until the end of June for him to record his first F2 win, which emerged through victory in the Red Bull Ring feature race. He was now just 32 points off the championship lead, held by Paul Aron.
But the most impressive aspect of his season so far was victory from 22nd on the grid in the Monza feature race. Bortoleto failed to get a competitive lap in during qualifying after a spin, and had already achieved the nearly-impossible feat of tying with Dennis Hauger for eighth during the sprint to earn both drivers a point. Bortoleto was up to 14th by the end of lap five, and then cycled into the front while his fellow soft-tyre starters ahead all pitted early doors. When Hauger was pitched into a spin at Turn 1 by a slight touch from Ritomo Miyata to bring out a safety car, Bortoleto could pit cheaply and returned to the circuit in sixth, and immediately threw together a series of quick-fire passes to take the lead – and, ultimately, a famous victory.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing
Photo by: Invicta Virtuosi Racing
How did Bortoleto get the Sauber seat?
When Nico Hulkenberg was signed early doors for Sauber in 2025, very much a decision taken with the view of becoming an Audi works driver in 2026, the team had turned its attention to wooing Carlos Sainz for the other car. But Sauber had been gazumped by Williams, as Sainz bought into James Vowles’ vision for the team and wanted to become part of a project that returned Williams to the front of the grid.
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This put Sauber into a protracted decision-making process for the other seat, one that remained dynamic as it essentially waited to see how the market would fall. It knew that, if all else failed, it could retain Valtteri Bottas; Zhou Guanyu looked to be out of luck, as the Chinese driver has paled in comparison his more experienced team-mate. Sauber also chased Esteban Ocon, but the Frenchman was dead set on joining Haas when his departure from Alpine was announced.
With options among the established drivers starting to run out, Bottas had moved ahead in the race to retain his seat – although Bortoleto’s gathering momentum in F2 was starting to mark him out as an attractive candidate.
Liam Lawson had been another option, particularly once it looked like Daniel Ricciardo had worked his way through the early threats to his RB drive, and the Kiwi was understood to be a free agent if Red Bull could not grant him a drive in either of its two teams by the end of 2024. Ricciardo’s place then became more tenuous and was ousted after Singapore, taking Lawson out of the equation as he was promoted from his reserve role.
The form of newcomer Franco Colapinto threw another spanner in the works. The Argentine had come into F1 with little expectation placed upon his shoulders as Logan Sargeant’s replacement, but immediately made an impression in his opening outings with Williams. With no seat available at 2025 with the Grove team, Vowles wanted to sound out an opportunity at Sauber and help Colapinto remain on the grid, but the alleged interest from Red Bull’s Helmut Marko appears to have complicated things.
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Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Either way, Sauber likely wanted a driver with no strings attached; Williams would have presumably kept Colapinto on a bungee cord in case Albon or Sainz were unavailable or casting their nets elsewhere. McLaren had no such qualms over Bortoleto; although the team presumably would like to keep tabs on the Brazilian, it knew that it had Norris and Piastri under lock and key for the next few years and thus could not make spurious promises to keep him.
Sauber also suggested Mick Schumacher was an option, given Mattia Binotto’s previous relationship with the ex-Haas driver through the Ferrari Driver Academy. Whether this was seriously mooted remains unknown, but Binotto admitted that he was at least “evaluating” Schumacher.
Bottas seemed confident that a deal could be done, but months have since passed and the team appeared no closer to doing a deal with the Nordic mullet-owner for 2025. Although the championship positions do not show this, Bottas has been well clear of Zhou in terms of overall pace – but the Swiss team’s penchant for weird strategies in the vague hope of scoring its first point has masked overall race performance.
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As such, Bottas appears to be out of time. Sauber has seen the performances of Colapinto, Lawson, and Haas driver-elect Oliver Bearman and figured it might be best to introduce a rookie to the party. Next to Hulkenberg, Bortoleto has a clear yardstick to measure up to; if he can keep pace with the veteran German in his first year, it will be symbolic of a driver with a bright future in F1.
What have people said about Bortoleto?
Fernando Alonso spoke highly of his protege, noting that he was not afforded the same opportunities as some of his F2 and F3 counterparts. Although largely hidden from view, it is known that multiple junior series drivers undertake testing in old machinery to gain experience of F2/F3-level cars, which Bortoleto has not been able to do.
“He’s an incredible talent and a very humble person as well – I think that’s the biggest thing that we need to work on,” Alonso explained in September. “He’s a hard worker aside from his talent, and I think that’s why in Formula 3 and Formula 2 he had this much progress. I think also he’s someone that is taking things very seriously as well, which at that age is never a guarantee.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, Race winner Gabriel Bortoleto, Trident
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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“On budgets and things like that, he won the championship as a rookie in Formula 3, and he’s fighting for the championship as a rookie in Formula 2, but without the testing of many other rookies. So he’s probably the only ‘rookie rookie’ in the championship. So this was an amazing achievement so far. And let’s see what the future brings. But it’s a matter of time that he gets to F1.”
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella reckoned that Bortoleto’s success made it “very normal and natural” that other teams would be interested, and explained that “McLaren will not stop the possibility for Gabriel to drive in Formula 1”. But perhaps the biggest endorsement came from reigning champion Max Verstappen, who stated that “if I was Sauber, I would have signed him already” – and used 2025 as a preparation season. This, he added, would afford Bortoleto the chance to get mistakes out of his system before Audi comes in for the following year.
“That’s the future with young drivers. And ‘26, a big rule change, it’s always good to get used to a team already for a year, make your mistakes here and there, get integrated well, and understand the car a bit. You always feel much more prepared and comfortable when you then start in ‘26.”
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