Binotto singles out Bortoleto as his Schumacher-like F1 talent

Mattia Binotto has spent enough time around Formula 1’s greatest talents to know that raw speed is only part of the equation. And when the Audi chief looks at Gabriel Bortoleto, he sees something that goes far beyond the Brazilian’s promising performances on track.

The qualities catching Binotto’s eye remind him of those he once witnessed at close quarters in one of F1’s most formidable figures: seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Binotto’s career spans more than three decades in F1, including 28 years at Ferrari before his move to Sauber in 2024 and, ultimately, the team’s transformation into Audi.

During his long tenure at Maranello, he worked alongside Schumacher during the German’s era of dominance, giving him a front-row seat to the habits and character that underpinned the F1 legend’s extraordinary success.

For Binotto, Schumacher’s greatest legacy was not simply the collection of championships and victories. It was the relentless commitment behind them.

Asked what stood out most about Schumacher, Binotto told Automoto.it: “His work ethic. Michael is a person with great values in terms of hard work, professionalism, commitment, dedication, motivation, and passion. You can’t improvise.”

Talent is never enough in F1

Talent, Binotto stressed, was merely the starting point in a driver’s F1 career.

“Talent is necessary, but it’s not enough. You need more. As a person, he gave his best outside the cockpit. As a pilot, he closed his visor, becoming the Michael we all saw and knew as a pilot,” he explained.

“But I always thought Michael was even stronger as a person, not just for his work ethic, but for his generosity towards everyone. He gave his attention to each and every person, making us feel at ease and putting us in the ideal conditions to do our best.

“He cared about the person, the individual. Behind the cold, mathematical German you could see from the outside, there’s a man who was very attentive to human sensitivity.”

Those qualities have clearly remained with Binotto long after Schumacher’s Ferrari years, and they provide an intriguing benchmark for the young driver now entrusted with helping shape Audi’s new F1 project.

When Binotto was asked if anyone on the current grid reminded him of Schumacher, his answer was strikingly direct.

“Gabriel [Bortoleto]. For his work ethic and for being a person with great human sensitivity.”

Bortoleto discovers a new idol

The 21-year-old’s reaction to the comparison was perhaps just as revealing.

Bortoleto did not grow up idolising Schumacher in the traditional sense. Born in 2004, he arrived too late to witness as a mere F1 fan the German’s championship-winning Ferrari years.

But Binotto’s recollections have gradually changed his perspective on a driver whose achievements he already knew from the history books.

“Michael became an idol of mine because of him [Binotto]. He always talks about him. Then I started learning about him and realised how great he was,” he said.

“I hadn’t even been born yet when he won everything. Just yesterday we were talking about him, about how he treated the team.”

That last detail is particularly telling. Binotto’s admiration for Schumacher has never centred solely on what happened when the visor came down. It was the human connection behind the stopwatch that made the lasting impression.

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And that is precisely where he now sees a similar quality in Bortoleto.

For Audi, which is building an entirely new operation around its F1 entry, having a young driver who combines talent with the ability to connect with and motivate the people around him could prove just as important as outright pace.

Binotto knows that lesson better than most. He saw it first with Schumacher. Now, remarkably, he believes he is seeing echoes of it in Bortoleto.

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