Young F1 star Gabriel Bortoleto has revealed that he talks to Max Verstappen a lot for advice on his F1 development – sometimes in unconventional settings.

The 22-year-old Brazilian sits right behind his vastly more experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in the drivers' championship as he continues to have a quietly impressive second season in underwhelming machinery.

Bortoleto was tipped for great things after winning the F3 and F2 championships back to back in 2023 and 2024, and has been working hard to work his way into the minds of top team principals while at Audi this year.

He's also been talking with one of the greatest F1 drivers of this century, which seems like a reasonably good resource for any young driver to have at their disposal.

Bortoleto: Sim racing 'is not work'

"I talk to Max often," Bortoleto revealed in a recent interview with Motorsport.com. "Obviously, the details stay between us, but we often talk about how I'm feeling, how I'm developing, what I want from Audi and how we're progressing as a team.

"I ask him questions about what he experienced at Red Bull before winning the world championship: what things were like, how the team worked."

The pair are frequently seen chatting at race weekends, but the Brazilian has admitted that a lot of his questions come up while the pair are sim racing online.

Saying of his online sim racing habit 'I’m laughing, I’m having fun, it’s not work', he added of his conversations with Verstappen: “These are things that sometimes come into my head while we’re playing, so I ask him."

"My mind is always on racing,” he added. “I need something that helps me switch off from what I do for the rest of the day. Sometimes it's still motorsport, but in a different way. I'm laughing, I'm having fun, it's not work. I don't have to chase perfection."