Gabriel Bortoleto found himself with a broken wing on the first lap of the race in Monaco after tangling with Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. The Brazilian was left unimpressed with the sequence of events that put him into the barriers, even though he was able to get back to the pits and continue to race.
Bortoleto managed an impressive overtake around the outside of the hairpin, picking off Antonelli for P15. But he stayed there just one corner, taking a slightly wider line into Portier which allowed Antonelli to steal back the position before the duo reached the tunnel.
Bortoleto instead hit the barriers as Antonelli snuck past, losing time reversing back and then pitting for a new front wing. He eventually recaught the pack and raced home to finish 14th via three pit stops, but made his opinions on his fellow rookie Antonelli clear after the race:
“It’s a shame what happened there on the first lap, I think I managed to make a very solid move in Turn 6 in the hairpin, so it was very nice around the outside and I gained a position.
«Obviously, he doesn’t want to see any car ahead of him, losing a position in Monaco is quite embarrassing, it’s bad because normally, historically you don’t lose position but you don’t gain as well.
2025 Monaco Grand Prix: Bortoleto crashes on Lap 1 in tussle with Antonelli
“And I think he tried a very optimistic move there. We have seen a lot of crashes there in the past, it’s not the first time. He didn’t touch me, but he just went straight and to avoid crashing into him, I crashed into the wall and destroyed my front wing, needed to reverse, go back to the pits and unfortunately that’s how my race ended up.”
Often, the drivers discuss contentious moves after the race, whether privately or in the following drivers’ briefing at the next race. But Bortoleto has yet to decide whether to take things further with his fellow rookie.
“I don’t know. For sure he didn’t want to put me in the wall or anything. He ended up doing it in my opinion. At some point I will talk to him but I don’t know, I need to think about it.
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“I don’t want to create any trouble, it’s not like we are fighting for any title here or podium or any points in that moment, so I don’t see why he would do that, would risk something like that. At the same time, we are racing so we need to race hard against each other but there is a limit.”
Hulkenberg had a frustrating race stuck in traffic in Monaco
Kick Sauber were not able to make much progress with either car in Monaco, Nico Hulkenberg finishing two places behind his team mate as he got caught up in the train of cars playing the team game – led by Racing Bulls and Williams.
But the German was clear that while it was a frustrating situation, it was one of his and the team’s own making – by just not being quick enough on Saturday.
“I guess already where we started [in P13], having two or three teams in front playing the strategic game for each other, it’s been a bit painful. Not much you can do, you are just a passenger, going slow. Impossible to overtake, and yeah I’m not the only one – many guys were the victim of that.
“Just put it to lack of performance, you need to help yourself, push your own luck. If you start ahead, you avoid all this trouble. We have work to do, we are getting an upgrade next weekend for Barcelona which I am excited about, and I hope this will give us a step forward and after today I’m happy to get going again next week and get this one out of my system.”
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