Bortoleto revels in ‘fun’ race as he goes from last to half-point in Monza Sprint

Gabriel Bortoleto was one happy driver as he went from last on the grid to finishing in P8 in the Monza Sprint Race, leading him to praise his Invicta Racing team’s performance.
The Brazilian spun into a stoppage in Friday’s Qualifying without setting a lap, leaving him starting at the back of the grid for both races.
However, he showed the pace was there for him in the Sprint as he fought his way through the field from P22, thanks to several eye-catching overtakes to finish in a tie for P8 with Dennis Hauger.
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“I don’t remember all the passes, there was a big shunt into T1 at the start, so some positions were made there, but I mean it was a great race,” said Bortoleto. “There were many overtakes and our pace was outstanding today, it’s a shame we couldn’t start further forward than I did.
“I made a mistake in quali yesterday which cost me my position for the weekend and the points I could score. Overall, a great race, many overtakes, great learning from today as well, and I had a lot of fun overtaking people on this track.
“I knew I needed to get some points in the bag. I cannot leave this weekend without any points. Obviously, we just did one today, that’s nothing compared to where we want to be.
“We will see tomorrow what we can do, obviously it depends on our pace, it depends on a lot of things but I think if we keep working on the direction we are, we can achieve a decent result there.”
One overtake Bortoleto didn’t quite finish was on Hauger as results showed they had a photo finish across the line, and he talked through the battle with the MP Motorsport driver.
“I didn’t know we tied, to be honest, because we’re so tight that I just didn’t know. I think they had the camera, the photo shooting millimetre by millimetre so they can decide it better. But if we were equal, we were equal, there’s nothing to say.
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“It was quite a tricky situation there because he blocked me a little bit coming to Parabolica, I think he thought I was going to send it there.
“Then he lost the rear a little bit on entry, that opened a small gap for me there and I managed to have a very good last corner, get his tow and match him on the line.
“It is satisfying to battle like that. Hauger is a very top-level driver, an F3 champion as well. So, tight battles like this are always nice. Splitting the point is not bad as well.”
Part of the reason why Bortoleto felt that he needed to score is that three of closest rivals in the title fight, Isack Hadjar, Paul Aron, and Zane Maloney are the top three for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Bortoleto got past Hadjar on his way to the points, while he watched on as Aron and Maloney collided, leaving the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver with wing damage and at the back of the field.
Aron had been running seventh when he made contact with Maloney and because he was forced to pit, this opened the door for Bortoleto, who was 10th at the time, to get into the points.
But his attentions will quickly turn to the Feature Race, where he will be carrying plenty of confidence. However, he does not know where he will end up come at the end of the weekend.
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“It does give me a lot of confidence,” said Bortoleto of his performance. “But tomorrow depends a lot on what will happen to the others. But having the performance, having the pace, having great overtakes is always good for confidence and not being stuck in the mid pack or anything.
“I don’t want to predict anything for Sunday. I am going to try my best and going to try to maximise like I did today. It depends on a lot of things, like how many Safety Cars are going to happen, how is the strategy going to play.
“I cannot say a position but I would love to be in the points again, score some good points, let’s see what we can do.”