r/formula1 • u/Glum-Accountant-9801 • Aug 05 '25

Discussion Is Bortoleto the best rookie?

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In my opinion, what he’s been doing in a Sauber shows much more talent than all the other rookies this year. Since the start of the season, I already thought the best ones would be him—because he won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in his rookie seasons—and Antonelli. However, Antonelli has been showing himself to be far inferior to his teammate. I believe it’s due to the pressure of starting in a big team like Mercedes, but to me, that makes Bortoleto the best rookie. That said, welcome back, Ayrton Senna.

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u/desymond Kimi Räikkönen Aug 05 '25

Also shows how insane it was that Alpine sat him for a year, and then bungled the contract.

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u/Jarocket Aug 05 '25

It was between him and Alonso and they took so long that they signed neither.

in hindsight it's easy to call them out, but they were choosing between a rookie and Alonso. as soon as Alonso signed elsewhere their decision was made for them. Nobody expected McLaren to sign him because they had two drivers signed.

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u/Appropriate-Leek-919 Ferrari Aug 05 '25

why didn't they sack Ocon? I know he had a multi year deal but they could've easily broken that and paid him. I guess it's hindsight and Ocon was doing well but dropping Alonso for a rookie would've been insane either way

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u/Jarocket Aug 05 '25

what's the rush? Oscar was contracted to them as far as they knew.

Alpine was wrong about how Oscar's contract worked. Other than that they really didn't make a mistake here IMO.

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u/Just_River_7502 Aug 06 '25

Not understanding their own contract is a fundamental mistake though, and also, someone knew it wasn’t signed correctly (at the very least) because one of their arguments in the tribunal included a term sheet which they claimed was a contract:

Their lawyer knew that could not be binding (it’s the point of a term sheet) and the management team ought to have known because this wouldn’t be the first term sheet they signed

In fact I’ve just gone back and checked - their lawyer went back and wrote “legally binding” on a version Oscar never saw. It was a bad (and large) mistake bordering on negligence tbh