Gabriel Bortoleto rejects Ayrton Senna shadow in Brazil F1 vow

Gabriel Bortoleto has explained the struggles of being compared to Ayrton Senna in F1, but detailed his desire to emulate the three-time champion.

Bortoleto is in his second season in F1 and is aiding Audi in its bid to climb from midfield team to world champions after entering grand prix racing for the first time. 

The 2024 FIA F2 champion is the first full-time Brazilian on the grid since Felipe Massa in 2017, but comparisons will inevitably be drawn to Senna, who was killed 10 years before Bortoleto was born, in 2004.

The highly-rated Sao Paulo native, in an exclusive RacingNews365 interview, spoke of how growing up in F1 would naturally lead to the Senna comparisons - and whilst he welcomes them, is keen to create his own legacy in grand prix racing.

"Senna is the greatest of all-time, so to have my name in the same sentence as him is already a big thing," Bortoleto exclusively told RacingNews365.

"I am Brazilian, he is my idol, I read about him, watched videos about him, and I'm extremely grateful for that, but sometimes it is difficult to be compared to someone that won so much when you are at the beginning of your career.

"There are a lot of positives and negatives about it, and when you don't win, people can be very harsh, but there are a lot of supportive people in Brazil - we have the most supportive people.

"So hopefully in 10-to-15 years' time, we're here talking again, me and you, and we're able to say something and if it was valid to compare me to him. 

"What I can tell you is that I'm going to work every single day to be the best driver I can and create my own history, and to make my country proud of me, because that is what matters.

"I want to bring happiness to my country, I want to make them wake up on a Sunday morning and watch a race with their families, and have the same memories I had with my father when I was younger.

"I didn't watch Senna, but I watched other drivers winning races, and I have those great memories in life that I wish I could give to kids in Brazil."