Fernando Alonso believes were it not for bias, Gabriel Bortoleto would not only be F1 2025’s best rookie, but the best “of this generation.”

Alas, he reckons the Sauber driver’s sixth at the Hungarian Grand Prix did not receive the recognition it deserved.

Fernando Alonso names his ‘rookie of this generation’

Bortoleto arrived on the F1 grid for the F1 2025 season the minimal F1 preparation.

Although he won the Formula 2 title as a McLaren-backed driver, his TPC time while still under the McLaren umbrella was limited, while Kimi Antonelli covered over 9,000km in an old Mercedes F1 car.

It meant that when Sauber announced Bortoleto in early November, the Brazilian didn’t even have a single FP1 practice session to his name.

Arriving on the grid as arguably one of the least prepared roo

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