Formula One's Year of the Rookies
Photo Courtesy: Gabriel Bortoleto via Flickr
In 2025, six rookies set out to make their mark in Formula 1–each arriving with unique pressures and expectations. Some are heralded as future world champions, while others are already fighting to secure their future. As the season opener approaches, fans and critics alike wonder: who will rise to the occasion, and who will be out before the season ends?
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
No rookie enters F1 with more hype than Antonelli. At 18, he joins Mercedes, replacing the sport’s most successful driver: Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion’s shock move to Ferrari left a vacant seat that Mercedes entrusted to their prodigy. While his potential may materialise, expectations will weigh heavy as he lines up alongside George Russell, a proven race-winner determined to lead the team.
How Antonelli handles the challenge against Russell and the rest of F1’s elite will be intriguing. Can he justify the hype, or will the leap to a top team prove too much, too soon?
Oliver Bearman
Bearman, a Ferrari Drivers Academy member, caught attention when he dominated the F4 circuit. Despite a lacklustre F2 season, Bearman proved his talent during a sensational F1 debut in Jeddah, replacing Ferrari’s Sainz. Undeterred, Bearman finished 7th in front of Norris and Hamilton, earning respect across the paddock.
Taking the wheel again in Azerbaijan for Haas, Bearman impressed once more, finishing in the points and out-qualifying his experienced teammate, Nico Hulkenburg. His raw pace and adaptability under pressure secured him a full-time seat, but can he find the consistency that eluded him in F2?
Gabriel Bortoleto
Bortoleto holds a stacked resume as a rookie champion in F2 and F3– a junior pedigree placing him alongside talents like Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. However, immediate results may be unrealistic as he joins Kick Sauber, who finished last in 2024.
With Audi taking over in 2026, Bortoleto’s focus is long-term. Partnering a quick but aging Hulkenberg, who likely isn’t part of Audi’s future vision, Bortoleto has a chance to prove himself as a lead driver. But in one of the slowest cars on the grid, his rookie season will be about evidencing potential rather than flashy results.
Liam Lawson
Lawson enters his first full season with more F1 mileage than the rest – some of whom have never turned a wheel in a Grand Prix. However, while his experience provides an advantage, he faces arguably the toughest challenge: partnering Max Verstappen.
A notorious teammate-killer, Verstappen has dominated every Red Bull driver in the second seat. Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Perez all tried and failed to match the reigning world champion’s pace. Will Lawson break the trend, or become another name on Verstappen’s list of ex-teammates?
Jack Doohan
Doohan opted out of racing in 2024 to focus on his reserve and test driver duties, a decision that paid off when Alpine announced his promotion in Zandvoort. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, his junior results lack the dominance that typically begets an F1 seat. Still, many were overjoyed to see him given a chance.
No one expected Franco Colapinto to emerge as Doohan’s challenger. Plucked out of F2 when Williams dropped Logan Sargeant, he exceeded all expectations–quadrupling his predecessor’s points haul in two races. Clearly, Flavio Briatore was impressed, negotiating a deal to bring Colapinto to Alpine as a reserve driver.
With rumours of a mid-season switch circulating, pressure on Doohan is heavy. How well must he perform to deny the Argentine his seat?
Isack Hadjar
The last rookie announced for 2025, Hadjar earned a Racing Bulls seat after narrowingly losing out on the F2 title. A product of Red Bull’s ruthless junior program, he shows promise, but arrives without a single junior title. He must deliver standout drives to keep the seat, as Red Bull have shown little patience for underperforming drivers.
Furthermore, he faces Yuki Tsunoda on the other side of the garage–a driver with a chip on his shoulder after being denied a Red Bull promotion. Experienced and driving with something to prove, Tsunoda will be a tough challenge. Will Hadjar perform or become another Red Bull casualty?
The upcoming season promises to be as scintillating as the last, and these rookies are poised to stoke the drama.