Road to Formula 1

He was born on 14 October 2004 in São Paulo. He started out in karting, winning several junior titles between 2012 and 2014. He made his single-seater debut in 2020 with a season in Italian Formula 4, taking wins at Monza and Mugello. In 2021 and 2022 he raced in the Formula Regional European Championship — the series from which drivers usually move up to Formula 3.

He is managed by A14, Fernando Alonso’s management company. On 5 October 2023, straight after his Formula 3 title, McLaren added him to its driver development programme. The team released him from the programme before his move to Sauber.

Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles

In 2023 he moved up to Formula 3 with Trident and won the first two feature races of the season, in Sakhir and Melbourne. He sealed the title early: after qualifying at the final round at Monza in September 2023, his rivals could no longer catch him.

In 2024 he stepped up to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing. On 1 September 2024 at Monza he won the feature race from last on the grid — a first in the series’ history. He clinched the title in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi on 8 December 2024, finishing second and beating Isack Hadjar in the standings. He won both championships as a rookie; before him only Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri had done that. At the end of the year he received the FIA Rookie of the Year award.

Rookie season at Sauber

On 6 November 2024 Sauber announced a multi-year contract with him, pairing him with Nico Hülkenberg for 2025. He made his debut at the Australian Grand Prix on 16 March 2025: he started 15th and retired 12 laps from the end when the rain arrived — his crash and Liam Lawson’s brought out the final safety car.

He scored his first points at the Austrian Grand Prix on 29 June 2025 — eighth from eighth on the grid. He then finished ninth in Belgium on 27 July and sixth in Hungary on 3 August 2025, his best result of the season. He also scored at the Italian Grand Prix on 7 September with eighth place and at the Mexico City Grand Prix on 26 October with 10th.

His home São Paulo Grand Prix on 9 November 2025 was the worst weekend of his season: on Saturday he crashed on the final lap of the sprint, missed qualifying and started from the back of the grid, and in the race he was out on the first lap after contact with Lance Stroll. He finished the 2025 season 19th in the Drivers’ Championship.

2026 season

From 2026 the Hinwil team races as Audi — the manufacturer’s works team with its own power unit — and Nico Hülkenberg remains his team-mate. At the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March 2026, Audi’s first race, he finished ninth from 10th on the grid and scored the team’s first points, while Hülkenberg was unable to start. A week later in China, on 15 March, he himself failed to take the start because of a hydraulics problem.

He finished eighth at the British Grand Prix on 5 July and the Belgian Grand Prix on 19 July 2026. It is the first season of the new technical regulations, with new power units, active aerodynamics and 11 teams on the grid.