Gabriel Bortoleto Involved In Scary F1 Sprint Crash At Brazilian Grand Prix

Gabriel Bortoleto was able to walk away from a scary crash at the end of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint race.

The Sauber rookie is making his first appearance in front of his home crowd at Interlagos this weekend and after qualifying 14th for Saturday's shortened event, Bortoleto was fighting for position with Williams' Alex Albon entering the final lap.

But moving to the inside on a damp patch into Turn 1, he lost the rear end of his car and slammed into the inside wall, sliding at unabated speed across the front of Albon's car before he launched over the camber on the boundary of the track and into the outside wall whilst airborne.

That was a big crash 💥

Huge relief to know Gabi is all right 🙏#F1Sprint #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/NNxKKSopr4
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 8, 2025

It was a horrible crash that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, as per Sky Sports UK, likened to the heavy impact suffered by fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola — the same weekend that saw Roland Ratzenburger and Ayrton Senna lose their lives.

"I just hope he's ok," said Albon, speaking to Sky Sports UK. "These walls around Sao Paulo... I had a similar crash in qualifying last year. I know he said he's ok but it is still a big crash. I feel for him."

Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, who was directly behind at the time of the incident, added: "It was scary. He had a very good overtake the lap before and then tried it again but lost it on a wet patch or something. It was very scary."

Thankfully, Bortoleto was able to radio his team to confirm "I'm ok" before exiting the wreckage under his own steam and walking to the FIA medical car.

Bortoleto was taken to the medical center for routine checks while his Sauber mechanics prepare to get to work on the extensive damage suffered, before he was seen running down the pitlane and back to his garage.

Following a crash at the end of the sprint race, Gabriel is ok and being taken to the circuit’s Medical Centre as a precaution

Gabriel está bem e está sendo levado para o Centro Médico do circuito por precaução#BrazilGP
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) November 8, 2025

A team statement read: "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 circuit marshals, F1 and the FIA and the Medical Centre staff for their superb care. The team will now focus on preparing the cars for this afternoon’s qualifying session."

The concern for him and Sauber will now be whether there is enough time before the start of qualifying to repair the damage ahead of this afternoon's session.

Gabriel Bartoleto — Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

When Albon crashed in qualifying last season in similar circumstances, he was forced to miss the grand prix proper with a similar gap between sessions after inclement weather on the Saturday led to a packed Sunday.

With it is unlikely Bortoleto will take part with damage to all four corners of his car and an inspection of the mechanical components also needed, he will likely start from the pitlane tomorrow.

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