Impressed or Disappointed: A look at F1’s 2025 Rookies

As the thrilling 2025 season concluded, the new drivers on the grid also finished their crucial rookie year, shaping the future trajectory of their careers. Some surpassed expectations and gained more recognition than expected, while others underperformed and will need the 2026 season to demonstrate they still deserve a place in Formula 1. 

Kimi Antonelli

Entering the season with the best odds of the 2025 rookies, Kimi Antonelli had high stakes and an immense amount of pressure. Just 18, the young Italian was getting behind the wheel of one of the fastest cars on the grid and replacing one of the greatest drivers in F1 history.

With mounting expectations, Antonelli’s priority was getting up to speed and showing the talent that so many had lauded him for, ahead of the regulation change and subsequent grid shake-up in 2026.

Antonelli started his rookie season with an impressive result, taking fourth in Australia, in sight of the podium positions and driving comfortably among the veteran drivers. While many of his fellow rookies struggled to find the final points-paying positions, the young Italian, with the power of the Mercedes behind him, settled into a rhythm of collecting points.

In the first six rounds, he finished comfortably in the points in all but one. The level he began the year at was where he was expected to remain. Consistent and steady without many mistakes or incidents to his name.

However, fortunes shifted heading into Imola. The young Italian was facing a home crowd for the first time in the season, and under the cheers of his countrymen, he faced his first retirement.

Antonelli fought for points in the coming rounds and struggled. Taking 18th in Monaco, he followed with DNFs in Spain, Austria and Britain. The only moment of reprieve was his third place in Canada, finally taking a step onto the podium, collecting his first piece of silverware in F1.

In Belgium, after another difficult finish, Antonelli’s future was starting to look unsure, with comments from Toto Wolff urging that the young Italian be given grace as a rookie, but he needed to improve his performance.

Luckily, as the threats began to loom, he got a crucial points finish in Monza, then a near podium in Baku. From there, the results came thick and fast with two more podium finishes back-to-back in Brazil and Las Vegas. The season came to a close with Antonelli taking seventh in the WDC, only six points behind the driver he replaced and three places behind his teammate.

It was a rollercoaster year for the Italian, but the talent that earned his seat at just 18 years old shone through throughout the season. But a seat in F1 is never guaranteed. With the 2026 regulations changing, Antonelli will need to eliminate his performance dip and turn more of his mid-level points finishes into podiums and potential wins.

Isack Hadjar

Flying under the radar into 2025, Isack Hadjar was well known to those who followed the junior categories but was arguably one of the lesser recognised rookies to join the grid last year. The Frenchman finished second in the F2 Championship in 2024, yet his promotion still came as a surprise.

Despite this, he quickly showed himself to be arguably the most successful rookie on the grid. In Australia, while the 2025 rookies struggled to get up to speed, qualifying at the back of the grid, Hadjar qualified 11th.

The chance of points on debut was looming, and suddenly the noise that had escaped Hadjar was now homing in on the Racing Bulls driver. But disaster struck for the young Frenchman as he spun into the barriers on the formation lap, taking him out of the weekend.

The sight of Hadjar, helmet still on, walking back to the paddock to be embraced by Lewis Hamilton’s father became the biggest picture from the weekend. A show of emotion and pressure on the shoulders of the young drivers at all times.

Hadjar was determined not to let the result define his season, and just two rounds later, he took his first points in F1. Despite driving one of the lower midfield cars on the grid, Hadjar was consistent in outperforming his machinery and teammates.

Without a doubt, his crowning moment of the year was his podium in Zandvoort, the young Frenchman capitalising on Lando Norris’ mechanical issue and moving from fourth onto the final step of the podium. He became the second rookie to take a podium, beating his teammate to the punch despite his longer tenure in F1.

Across the year, he consistently outperformed his teammate, Liam Lawson. He led the team head-to-head in every category. With his consistent results not just in points but also in showing something beyond the capabilities of Racing Bulls, it felt like he deserved the promotion to Red Bull for 2026.

Looking back on the season, Hadjar crossed the line in Abu Dhabi as a more mature, well-rounded driver than in Australia, yet with the same potential. He ended the season 12th in the drivers' standings, ahead of not just his own teammate, but ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, whose seat he steps into next year.

Going into a historically ruthless team in 2026, Hadjar will need to continue the way he’s started. With a much faster car underneath him, points will need to become podiums and wins if he hopes to secure his future as Max Verstappen’s teammate.

Oliver Bearman

All the eyes of British fans watched on when Oliver Bearman made his F1 debut in 2024 with Ferrari, stepping in for the unwell Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia. The young Brit from Essex put on a performance which had teams, journalists and fans watching him carefully. It wasn’t long before Haas made it clear that he would occupy one of the seats for 2025.

Haas would pose a different challenge for Bearman. While his limited appearances in F1 in 2024 showed he could survive the deep end, securing a full-time seat would come with high expectations and the need for thorough preparation.

However, it also required tempering expectations. Bearman wasn’t stepping behind the wheel of the Ferrari, even if that was his hope someday. Instead, he would be driving for their customer team, and one of the historically lower performers on the grid. While Antonelli may have been hoping for wins or podiums in 2025, Bearman’s sights were on points.

Something the young Brit was praised for from the jump was a level head and the way he approached on-track battles with maturity. He was, in turn, rewarded when he took points in China, Japan and Bahrain.

However, a rookie year with Haas wouldn’t be easy. The American team found itself consistently in the battle for the final points-playing positions. With that came a long streak of pointless finishes for Bearman.

Between Jeddah and Hungary, Bearman scored no points, yet he found an essential level of consistency that is rare to see in a rookie. During his nine races without points in the first half of the season, he finished 11th four times, along with a 12th and a 13th place.

Outside of retirements, the Brit’s lowest finish was 17th heading into Zandvoort, and he was still determined to improve on his best result of 8th.

In the final nine rounds, Bearman settled into his place in F1 and began extracting performance from his Haas, which was beyond its previously thought capabilities. In a run of scoring points, Bearman showed why Ferrari had watched his career so intently.

In Mexico, the rookie Haas driver was starting in ninth, a strong start for the Brit. Upon lights out, he made an extraordinary start, jumping towards the front of the field. He held on tightly, watching the final podium position, hoping for an opportunity to collect his first piece of silverware in F1.

He wasn’t able to make it into the top three, but his fourth-place finish, which was the Brit’s career best, still equalled the team's highest result in a race.

He closed out the season in 13th in the WDC standings. The Brit bested his teammate, Esteban Ocon, not just in points but equally in the qualifying and race results head-to-head.

Bearman’s contract has been assured for 2026, and he’s made a strong start by outperforming his more experienced teammate. However, he has not shied away from admitting his goal is a Ferrari seat. For that, he will need to show more performance like Mexico, massively outperforming the machinery underneath him.

Gabriel Bortoleto

Much like Oliver Bearman, Bortoleto came into the 2025 season with reduced expectations. Racing with Sauber, which had finished last in 2024, even a potential hope for points could have fallen outside of the realm of possibility.

The young Brazilian was a unique rookie on the grid. Achieving titles back-to-back in F3 and F2 put him among the ranks of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. With that came expectations for a similar level of talent.

However, 2025 was the first step in a larger plan for Bortoleto. Racing with Sauber would allow him to grow as a driver without the pressure of fighting for podiums. Yet, the team, which becomes Audi for 2026, offers the Brazilian an opportunity to grow and, in the future, fight for wins with them.

Bortoleto had a slow start, which was expected not just because he was a rookie but also because the team struggled in the opening rounds. While most teams were able to find points here and there, including even the backmarkers, Sauber struggled for race pace.

It wasn’t until the team began bringing upgrades and making the car more consistent that Bortoleto started to improve his performance. Trading 19th-place finishes in Japan for 12th-place finishes in Spain.

In Austria, he found his first respite. The young Brazilian crossed the line eighth, putting points on the board for the first time in his F1 career. From there, the dam was broken. After ten rounds without points, Bortoleto took points in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy and Mexico.

In Hungary, Bortoleto gained attention when he crossed the line sixth. The result was beyond what Sauber seemed capable of, and it caught the attention of teams further up the grid. With rumours suggesting Ferrari was looking at Bortoleto for a future with the prancing horses.

While he fell behind his teammate Nico Hülkenberg in their race result head-to-head, his performance over one lap was better than that of his more experienced colleague. Equally, his ability to get close to Hülkenberg showed the depth of Bortoleto's talent.

With Sauber becoming Audi in 2026, the Brazilian will have the opportunity to prove himself further, hoping to either impress a top-three team for a place in the future, or stay with Audi and find race wins with them.

Jack Doohan

Alpine changed their line-up early in the season, with Jack Doohan paying the price for their indecisiveness. The Australian had served as the reserve driver for the Enstone team in 2024, being promoted to the full-time seat for 2025.

However, it was clear from the start of the season that perfection would be required of Doohan if he intended to keep his seat, with Flavio Briatore already discussing possible replacements.

His home race was the season opener, yet under pressure, the young Australian retired from the Australian Grand Prix after crashing in the rain. Round after round, Doohan found himself pointless, and in Miami, he retired again.

In the break ahead of Imola, it was announced that Doohan would not be racing in the second Alpine seat for the rest of the season, with Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto taking his place.

Doohan’s brief F1 career and his stint at Alpine were disappointing for both parties. As more skilled rookies emerge and Alpine strengthens its junior program, his future remains uncertain, though it’s unlikely to be in F1.

Franco Colapinto

Replacing Jack Doohan, the young Argentine stepped into the Alpine seat facing the same amount of pressure as his predecessor. Franco Colapinto had spent time in F1 machinery, replacing Logan Sargeant in 2024, giving him a base and experience that Doohan did not have.

After claiming points finishes in his short time with Williams, he caught the eye of Alpine management, namely Flavio Briatore. With him came extensive South American sponsors and roaring support from Argentinians.

However, the Alpine proved difficult to drive in the opening rounds of the season. Falling from its previous midfield position. Colapinto joined the team for Imola and shared in the team’s struggles as he found himself consistently outside of the points.

Alpine ended the F1 season last in the Constructors Championship with 22 points to its name, all of its points coming from Pierre Gasly. Although Gasly bested Colapinto in the driver head-to-head, it wasn’t a massive jump. Their race result head-to-head was 6-10 in Gasly’s favour.

While it’s easy to look at the results on the surface and see Colapinto as a driver who had an unsuccessful season, the performance of the car cannot be underplayed. Gasly, who has scored podiums and a win in F1 before, came away from the season with just 22 points, leaving much to be desired.

Despite ending the year pointless, Colapinto retained his seat for the 2026 season. However, Alpine has shown itself to be brutal in its ability to switch drivers, and Colapinto will not be given grace forever.

2026 will be a vital year for the Argentine, needing to find himself in the points and on par with his teammate to secure his long-term future in the sport.

Don't miss the chance to catch the first British Grand Prix under Formula 1's new regulations! 

Bringing with it a likely shake-up of the order, expect to see these rookies fighting for points and wins at the Home of British Motorsport next July. 

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