Bortoleto arrived in Formula 2 following a dominant 2023 FIA Formula 3 campaign with Trident, where he claimed the title in front of Paul Aron and Pepe Martí. A protégé managed by Fernando Alonso's A14 Management company and a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme from late 2023, he was paired with Alpine Academy driver Kush Maini at the newly rebranded Invicta Racing outfit.
The season began with a turbulent Sakhir opener — Bortoleto was promoted to pole after his teammate's disqualification, then spun around on the opening lap of the feature race. A redemption moment came at Imola, where he followed up a sprint podium with a feature race runner-up finish. By Austria, Bortoleto claimed his maiden Formula 2 victory after leading from lap four and resisting pursuit in the closing stages, entering the top three in the championship.
Further wins at Monza — where he led a last-to-first charge from the pit lane after spinning in qualifying, capitalising on a well-timed safety car — and in Baku shifted the championship momentum decisively in his favour. The Monza result was particularly celebrated: Bortoleto became the first driver in Formula 2 history to win from last on the grid, later earning the Mecachrome Outstanding Win Award. After Baku he held a 4.5-point lead over Isack Hadjar entering the Qatar round.
At Qatar, Bortoleto dominated the feature race after taking the lead at the start, but was penalised for crossing the pit entry line while avoiding the pit lane entrance during a virtual safety car deployment. Although he crossed the line first, the penalty demoted him behind Paul Aron and Hadjar, leaving a half-point gap between them entering the Abu Dhabi finale.
Bortoleto qualified second at Yas Island and built a four-point advantage over Hadjar after the sprint race, finishing second while Hadjar could only manage fifth. The feature race resolved the title in the most decisive fashion: Hadjar stalled on the grid at the start. Bortoleto took the lead at turn one, was overtaken by Joshua Dürksen after the pit stop phase, but came home second — enough to clinch the championship. He became the fourth driver in the FIA Formula 2 era to win the F3 and F2 titles in successive seasons, following Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri.
Bortoleto was named FIA Rookie of the Year for 2024 and received the Anthoine Hubert Award. Sauber Motorsport — which had been announced as Audi's acquisition target — signed him ahead of the 2025 season alongside Nico Hülkenberg, making Bortoleto the replacement for both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. He was subsequently released from McLaren's development programme. His 2024 title thus provided one of the clearest junior-to-Formula-One promotions of the era, with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri among those publicly endorsing him for a seat.