Gabriel Bortoleto stunned the Formula 2 paddock in Sunday's feature race at Monza by becoming the first driver to win from last on the grid.
After spinning into the gravel during qualifying on Friday and causing the red flags to fly, the Brazilian was relegated to the 22nd and final starting position for both races across the weekend.
In the sprint outing, he recovered to finish eighth in a dead heat with Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) which earned both half a point, with the regulations dictating the points be shared in this highly irregular scenario.
But on Sunday Invicta driver Bortoleto surpassed all expectations, albeit in an outcome that was significantly impacted by the most fortuitously-timed safety car intervention.
Asked if he could believe what had happened, Bortoleto conceded: “No, I can’t. The chances of this happening were probably less than one percent. This is just unreal.
“With the pace that we had plus with the safety car, everything aligned. The stars aligned and we had mega pace as well with both tyres.
“Being able to pull away and win like this in Monza, which is like a home race for me because I live in Milan, so I feel like this is home. I’m just so happy.”
Bortoleto admitted that his view of the start was a blur as drivers scattered in all directions to avoid the chaos triggered by Pepe Marti (Campos) locking up and steaming into the gearbox of title-challenging Paul Aron’s Hitech machine.
“I don’t remember [the start] to be honest,” said the McLaren junior driver. “It was quite a crazy start. There were a lot of people going out in Turn 1. I was just trying to avoid cars. I don’t even know how I overtook people there.
“I tried everything to place my car in the best positions. The only thing I remember about my start was overtaking the car on my left and the car in front of me – it was a Trident, I think [Roman] Stanek.
“But all the rest, I really don’t remember. There were just crazy situations going in my head and I was just avoiding cars and overtaking people.”
His main gains were irrefutably made when the safety car was deployed to allow for the recovery of Hauger’s stricken car, that had been clipped into a spin by Ritomo Miyata, just moments after the lead pack had completed their mandatory stop.
Having opted to run the regular strategy by starting on supersoft rubber before switching mid-race to mediums, Bortoleto was able to take advantage and stop while the field ran at a reduced pace.
This offset is believed to yield around a nine-second advantage, and it proved decisive with the 2023 Formula 3 champion rejoining the track clearly ahead of those on the same strategy in the net race lead, behind only those on the alternate strategy running long.
Once racing resumed, Bortoleto picked his way past those yet to stop including debutant Niels Koolen (PHM), Stanek, Juan Manuel Correa (DAMS), Oliver Goethe (MP) and team-mate Kush Maini before taking the flag 9.436s clear of polesitter Zane Maloney's Rodin entry.
“We were expecting to be there but not fighting for the win because Zane was very quick, Isack [Hadjar] and Paul [Aron] were starting forward,” said Bortoleto. “But you never know. This is motorsport and anything can happen.
“We were aiming to fight for the top five in the best situation, but we were able to win the race at the end of the day. It’s not how you start but how you finish.”
Having taken the F3 title last year in his rookie season, Bortoleto is now firmly in the mix for the F2 crown. As championship leader Hadjar [Campos] failed to score on a weekend for only the second time this year, Bortoleto reduced his points deficit from 36 heading into the weekend to 10.5.
Asked how the outcome alters his championship expectations, he commented: “We’re back closer to the front now. A few results like today and anything can happen. It’s exciting.”
