SAO PAULO :Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto vowed to learn from his mistakes and keep fighting after crashing heavily in a Saturday sprint and missing qualifying for his first home Formula One grand prix.
The 21-year-old Sauber driver will start last on Sunday at Interlagos, a long way from where he hoped to be.
“I’ve been used to fighting always at the front in my previous series. And now in Formula One, I don’t quite have the car yet, so I need to fight at some point,” last year’s F2 champion told reporters.
“The whole year I think I’ve been backing out and not being able to fight.
“But I think I need to learn and test things as well because the day that I hopefully will get a car to fight for championships, I cannot make such mistakes.”
Bortoleto, whose team will become Audi next year, crashed at the start of the final lap while attempting to pass Williams’ Alex Albon for 10th place in a sprint that pays out only for the top eight places.
The car moved left, hitting the inside barrier and taking off before landing and careering into the wall on the opposite side of the track. It was too badly damaged to be rebuilt in time for qualifying.
“Life moves on and I hope I will learn from my mistakes in the future as well,” said Bortoleto, who suggested the accident might have been caused by wet patches after overnight rain or issues with the drag reduction system.
He was taken to the medical centre, cleared and returned to the pits.
“Obviously, I feel a little bit of pain here or there, but normal pain … so I’m very lucky because I think it could have been much worse,” he said.
Bortoleto, who had only competed once previously at Interlagos years ago in stock cars, hoped for a “wacky race” on Sunday.
“I’m still comfortable with my car and everything. It’s just that I’m not being able to put it together this weekend, but the speed was there,” he added.
