F1 star has passport STOLEN ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

Alex Albon, Max Verstappen, Gabriel Bortoleto, Monaco, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 star has passport STOLEN ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

A F1 star was the victim of a robbery

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 15 June 2025 13:57

F1 star Gabriel Bortoleto revealed that he had his passport stolen ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix after he confirmed that he was the victim of a theft.

Prior to his appearance in Montreal this weekend, Bortoleto was robbed in Zurich after thieves broke into his car and stole his backpack.

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Inside his backpack included essential items such as his passport, laptop and racing equipment, which were all stolen whilst he was at a meal in Switzerland.

“I was robbed. I just had dinner in Switzerland one night, and someone opened my car and took my backpack, with my laptop and my documents. All my racing materials were there too. It was chaos,” he said to Brazilian Formula 1 broadcaster TV Bandsports.

Bortoleto victim of robbery ahead of Canadian GP

The Swiss police were able track down the thieves and recover the stolen items, but Bortoleto was still forced to use a second passport to travel to Canada for the race weekend.

"Everything was well at the end. We were able to recover my passports. We didn’t get to recover everything, but some stuff yes. My racing equipment too,” the Brazilian concluded.

Gabriel Bortoleto was robbed ahead of the Canadian GP

Sauber also issued a statement to the Brazilian media on the robbery, where they revealed: “A backpack belonging to Gabriel Bortoleto and containing his passport was stolen from a parked car.

“The bag and all his belongings were quickly recovered and Gabriel had no problems travelling to Montreal for this weekend's race. The incident was obviously a nuisance but has now been resolved.”

Sauber enjoyed their best result of the 2025 season at the Spanish GP last time out, where Nico Hulkenberg overtook Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari to secure fifth place and 10 points.

Bortoleto is yet to score a point in F1, and failed to progress into Q2 during qualifying at the Canadian GP, meaning he will have to fight his way through the pack of drivers for any potential points in Montreal this weekend.

Red Bull Canadian Grand Prix Gabriel Bortoleto