- Formula 1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto saw his passport stolen by a thief this week
- The 20-year-old Brazilian is yet to earn a point in his debut season on the circuit
Formula 1 star Gabriel Bortoleto almost missed out this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix after a thief shockingly broke into his car and stole his passport.
The Brazilian, who was in Zurich near his Sauber team’s headquarters, also had his computer taken while he was eating dinner and was forced to use a different passport and replacement travel documents as he scrambled to get to Montreal on time.
The 20-year-old joined Sauber ahead of this season after winning last year’s Formula 2 title and is yet to earn a point in his maiden season in the F1 circuit.
A 12th place finish in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona represented his best result so far.
And his preparations for the Canadian Grand Prix were dealt a heavy blow as he looks to improve on a challenging campaign, with the thiefs causing ‘chaos’.
‘I had gone to dinner one day in Switzerland and they ended up opening the car and taking my backpack,’ the Sauber driver told Brazilian media.
Bortoleto almost missed out this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix after a thief stole his passport
The 20-year-old Brazilian is in his first season on the F1 circuit and is yet to pick up a point
But the Sauber driver’s team-mate Nico Hulkenburg impressed by coming fifth in Barcelona
‘I had my passports, everything inside, my computer, all my running gear.
‘It was chaos, but we managed to find the guy.
‘Everything worked out in the end, I have my passports. We didn’t find everything, but we did find some things.’
Bortoleto is the 14th highest paid driver, earning around £1.5m a year.
The F1 rookie, who replaced former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas this season, is not the first star to be targeted by thieves.
Two years ago, then-Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz chased down thieves and retrieved his £500,000 watch just hours after competing in the Italian Grand Prix in Milan.
While Bortoleto is still looking to pick up his first point of the season, team-mate Nico Hulkenburg sits in 11th on 16.
Despite Sauber’s car being one of the slowest on the grid, the German impressively raced to a fifth-place finish in Spain.
Carlos Sainz chased down thiefs and retrieved his watch after the Italian Grand Prix in 2023
All eyes will be on Max Verstappen who is just one error away from being handed a race ban
Much attention will be fixed of Max Verstappen as the F1 season continues at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend.
The Red Bull driver is in third place but is a single error away from a race ban after his shocking collision with George Russell in Spain.
Meanwhile, Brit Lando Norris will be aiming to return to the top of the leaderboard by besting McLaren team-mate and championship rival Oscar Piastri.
