Sauber have received perhaps unexpected advice over their driver conundrum from 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

The only available seat remaining in the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:2025 F1 driver line-up is with the team who will evo🦩lve into Audi a y🌱ear later.

Sauber are weighing up whether to keep Valtteri Bottas alongside their new sign✃ing from Haas, Nico Hulkenberg, or to give a chance to rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

F1 🦄champion Verstappen unequivocally backed Bortoleto in the📖 battle for the drive.

“Yeah, I mean, if I was Sauber, I would h🎃a💃ve signed him already,” Verstappen insisted.

“I mean, especially if that's anyway the future, you know, young drivers. And ‘🌳26, big rule change.

“It's always good to get used to a team already for a year, mak✨e your mistakes🍰 here and there, get integrated well, understand the car a bit.

“You alwa𓃲ys feel much more prepared and comfortable when you then start in ‘26.”

Bottas has been in talks with Sauber for several weeks over extending his stay but has still not beꦿen offered the chance to put pen to paper🐟.

Bortoleto is currently impressing by leading the Formula 2 championships and enters his home roun🧔d in Brazil this weekend. He is the reigning F3 champion too.

But he is contracted by McLaren providing an additional hurdle if Sa🌌uber opt to give him the nod.

“I think he🤡's been doing a very impressive j🔴ob,” McLaren’s Oscar Piastri said.

“Obviously winning F3 ❀as a rookie last year and now le⛦ading the championship in F2.

“So yeah, I t💯hink from my point of view, when you're achieving those kind of resul✨ts, you deserve to be in F1.

“ And I have the personal experience of the pain of not getting a seꩲat. So for his sake, I hope he doesn't have to go through that.

“I don't think anyone will ☂ever go through quite the extent that I did. But I think he's been doing a very good job.

“Yeah, if he's doing it on merit, then I think he d💖eserves a place in F1.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has previously indicated that he would be willing to thrash out a deal with Sauber which enab♐les Bortoleto to drive their F1 c🌜ar - but with a catch.

“If Mattia Binotto came to me, when you have such a talent, definitely you’re♔ not going to stop him having a chance in Formula 1,” Stel♛la previously said.

“At the same time, we would be definitely interested in finding a way to keep him in the 𓃲McLaren family.

“Because I think he is a talent that in the future could be impo🐻rtant for McL🍎aren.”