Gabriel Bortoleto hit with Qatar grid drop for causing multi-car crash

Gabriel Bortoleto has been handed a five-place grid penalty for causing a multi-car collision at the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Sauber driver misjudged his braking into Turn 1 trying to make up early ground and slammed into Lance Stroll, punting the Aston Martin driver into Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Both Bortoleto and Stroll were forced to retire from the race as a result of the incident.

Following a post-race investigation, the FIA stewards deemed that Bortoleto was fully to blame for the collision.

As they could not issue him the standard 10-second time penalty due to Bortoleto’s retirement, it has been converted into a five-place grid drop.

The Brazilian will serve his punishment at next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, which marks the penultimate round of the 2025 season.

Bortoleto has also received two penalty points on his superlicence. These are the first penalty points of his F1 career.

“The driver of Car 5 braked extremely late and as a result collided with Car 18,” the stewards ruled.

“Even though this was a Lap 1 Turn 1 incident, mitigating circumstances do not exist and hence the standard 10 second penalty would have applied however as Car 5 retired, the penalty is converted into a grid penalty for the next Race in which the driver participates, in accordance with our guidelines.”

Bortoleto’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth to score two points for Sauber.

The result moves Sauber just six points behind eighth-placed Haas in the constructors’ championship.