Bortoleto vs Hadjar: The title fight so far in 2024

Two rounds remain of an enthralling 2024 season that has gone back and forth between several drivers, but heading to Lusail, it’s Gabriel Bortoleto that leads Isack Hadjar by 4.5 points.
Both have endured their share of glory and misfortune, have fought and clashed directly with the other across the year, but here are the biggest on-track moments between them that have led to the showdown.
The title protagonists came to blows almost immediately in 2024 though the larger implications in the Championship were far from obvious at such an early stage.
Lining up on Pole Position, Gabriel Bortoleto suffered a poor getaway in the Feature Race and dropped to third position on the run to the first corner, with Hadjar able to clear the Brazilian.
Under braking, the Invicta driver locked up and had nowhere to go, and with Hadjar the car directly in front of him, punted the Campos into a spin.
While Bortoleto was able to continue on his way with some front wing damage, the Turn 1 concertina left Enzo Fittipaldi unsighted, and he collected Hadjar to put both out of the running.
Hadjar was left to rue what could have been a great race to start his year while Bortoleto rebounded to finish fifth, but he was left disappointed with his error and missed opportunity having started from the front.
After one race away from one another, the pair collided once again, this time at the start of the Melbourne Sprint Race in a three-car incident.
Bortoleto went from second on the reverse grid with Hadjar in third, but it was Campos teammate Josep María Martí that got the best launch in the top five, and he tried to split the title contenders right away.
With Hadjar coming over to his right, Martí was squeezed into Bortoleto, and both spun sideways into retirement.
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This time however, Hadjar was the one who was able to continue on his way. Bortoleto watched from the sidelines as the Frenchman crossed the line in first.
The impact of Bortoleto’s non-finish was lessened however, as Hadjar was hit with a post-race time penalty having been judged to have caused the start-line incident, dropping the Campos driver to sixth.
After the unfortunate contacts in Bahrain and Australia, Imola was the first race in which the pair came across one another on track in a direct fight for victory.
Bortoleto started the Feature Race from Pole for the second time in 2024, but he endured another poor launch and dropped to fourth by the first corner. Hadjar meanwhile slotted into second behind early race leader Oliver Bearman.
READ MORE: Campos Racing 2024 Season so far: Quick everywhere and eyeing glory
Through the pitstop phase of the race, Hadjar headed Bortoleto as it became a two-driver fight for the win following Bearman’s slow stop.
From the halfway stage onwards, Bortoleto shadowed his rival ahead, just on the DRS one-second bubble, but unable to shape for an overtake.
As the Invicta driver finally got to within a second, the lap count ran out and Hadjar recorded his second-consecutive Feature Race victory to stamp his authority on the title fight.
It was a similar theme in Spa as Bortoleto qualified ahead of Hadjar for the Feature Race, but Sunday went the way of the Campos driver, and he chalked up a fourth race victory of the campaign.
Three title contenders lined up in the top three on the grid with Paul Aron on Pole and he defended that lead on Lap 1, but on the run along the Kemmel Straight, Hadjar seized second from Bortoleto.
He didn’t stop there, as he claimed first position on Lap 8 from Aron, and put a two-second buffer between himself and Bortoleto, who moved up to second after an early stop by the Hitech driver.
READ MORE: Invicta Racing 2024 season so far: Topping the table
After the Invicta pitted and rejoined third in the queue, Bortoleto set about closing his rivals back down and re-passed Aron on Lap 17.
Hadjar resisted the late-race pressure from Bortoleto though and held on for another race victory.
While Hadjar had enjoyed the lion’s share of success in the middle phase of the season compared to the other title contenders, Bortoleto’s recent form has rocketed him to the top. His weekend in Monza stands out as his best yet, as he overcame Friday Qualifying disappointment in sublime style.
Having looked quick, a mistake in the middle sector left Bortoleto spinning, and he started both races from 22nd and last on the grid. He showed his speed on Saturday to tie with Dennis Hauger in P8, sharing half a point with the Norwegian.
On Sunday, he went even better, and by Lap 9 had caught Hadjar, who was experiencing something of an off weekend himself despite the grid position advantage.
Bortoleto passed the Frenchman for 12th but was far from done, gaining 11 more places to stand on the top step in whirlwind reversal in fortunes, and recording some F2 history by going last to first.
The result lifted Bortoleto to the top of the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in 2024, and he remains there after Baku heading into the final two rounds of the season.
The question now is, will the two title favourites face each other in a direct fight in the final races of the season?