FORMULA ONE rookie Gabriel Bortoleto almost didn’t make it to the Canadian Grand Prix after his passport was stolen in a ROBBERY.
The thieves struck when the Sauber driver was in Switzerland before the lead-up to this weekend’s race in Montreal, with a computer also nicked.
The culprits broke into Bortoleto‘s car and stole a backpack while he was enjoying a spot of dinner with friends in the Playground of Europe.
The bag had several important travel documents inside, including his passport, electronics and clothes.
The 20-year-old was forced to travel over 4,000 miles to Canada with a second passport as he aimed to minimise the disruption.
Despite the setback, Bortoleto is still able to race in Canada, but it was touch-and-go-for a while.
The Brazilian said: “I had gone to dinner one day in Switzerland and they ended up opening the car and taking my backpack.
“I had my passports, everything inside, my computer, all my running gear.”
The thieves were eventually caught and arrested, with some of the items retrieved by Swiss police.
Bortoleto, who is the 14th highest paid driver on the grid with an annual salary of £1.5million, added: “It was chaos, but we managed to find the guy.
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“Everything worked out in the end, I have my passports. We didn’t find everything, but we did find some things.”
It’s not the first time an F1 star has been the victim of a robbery.
Just two years ago, then-Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz thwarted three men who tried to steal his £500,000 watch just hours after the Italian Grand Prix.
Bortoleto’s F2 title win last year earned him an immediate promotion to F1 in 2025 with Sauber, as he replaced former Mercedes star Valtteri Bottas.
He is yet to score a point, but a 12th place finish last time out in Barcelona was his best result to date.
While Bortoleto is still waiting for his first point of the season, team-mate Nico Hulkenberg impressed with a fifth-place finish in Spain.
Hulkenberg pipped Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari in the last lap, which left the 40-year-old Brit feeling like “it was his worst-ever race”.
The F1 season continues this weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with Lando Norris looking to get back ahead of his teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri.
Many eyes will also be on Max Verstappen who is one error away from receiving a race ban following his shocking collision with George Russell in Spain.
