More often than not it’s difficult to look away from the sharp end of the grid where McLaren dominating the pack and the big names are trying to fight their way to the front once more. But, in 2025, there is more than enough storylines up and down the grid to keep everyone intrigued and occupied. Not least of these storylines are the rookies that have taken a step in the premier racing series in the world. With fourteen races under the proverbial belt they haven’t done too badly.
Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli’s foray into Formula 1 may only be ten races old but he has, to date, lived up to expectation. A first podium in Canada has capped the start of his F1 career in just the right way. It certainly helps that he finds himself in the cockpit of a competitive car with a highly experienced team driving the program forward.
But he must be given credit to for how he has conducted himself, to date. Out of the car he presents as a highly likable character. In the car, he appears studious, eager to learn, and quick to boot. He’s taken to F1 beautifully. Yes, there has now been some missteps, and mistakes, maybe even some errors of judgements. But that is to be expected and form part of the incredibly steep learning curve that is Formula 1. The good news for Antonelli is that, as it stands, he seems to be a somewhat ahead of this curve. Long may it continue.
Isack Hadjar
Aside from Antonelli, who is a bonafide points-scoring position, Hadjar has unquestionably been the best of the rookies in 2025. It didn’t start out brilliantly but the crash, behind the safety car, in Australia seems long forgotten in the face on his performances. And as much as anything it is Hadjar’s consistency that is most impressive. So impressive that Red Bull might be thinking of promoting him to the senior team. The urge might be strong for Hadjar to accept such an offer, but he should decline. There is absolutely no proof that he’ll succeed in the Red Bull. In fact, there is long list of drivers whose careers have been harmed by the second Red Bull seat.
So as alluring as the Red Bull seat might look, Hadjar’s management needs to steer as far clear of it as possible, pun intended. He’s a young driver who is performing well and should continue to learn the environment of F1 exactly where he is. There is nothing to be gained from becoming Max Verstappen’s teammate, in fact, it will only be to his detriment. In 2025 alone Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda can attest to this.
Gabriel Bortoleto
The Brazilian driver came into F1 with the 2024 F2 title under his belt. But he has taken a while to warm to F1. In the first quarter of the season, he hadn’t done anything that has gained any attention – good or bad. It didn’t help that his journeyman teammate Nico Hulkenberg seems to be re-invigorated in 2025 either. The Hulk has done things in that Sauber that most wouldn’t have dreamt about much less predicted, not least of scoring an unforgettable podium at Silverstone.
But in the last handful of races Bortoleto has stepped up his game. Several appearances in the top ten of qualifying and a haul of fourteen points has slowly but surely pushed his name into the mentions. He needs to make sure that he maintains this kind of form given the deluge of drivers bidding to return to the grid. Checo Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, to name a few, are likely all in the shop window. Which means that teams have quite a menu to choose from.
Oliver Bearman
Bearman’s first F1 race, in place of Carlos Sainz, at Ferrari was a dream. He jumped into the car and stormed to seventh place finish on the highly demanding Jeddah Corniche circuit in Saudi Arabia. He’s stock was high enough for him to be drafted into the Haas for a full-time race seat, and no one saw it as a gamble. But since then, he has been under the radar, which isn’t good in a rookie year. Even in an uncompetitive car a driver needs to stand out to get the attention of those further up the grid.
Jack Doohan/Franco Colapinto
Alpine, at a team, is a mess. Lack of performance, internal issues, and general lack of direction has, in combination, created a team struggling to keep their head above water. Add to this the fact that Renault has left the building and it’s somewhat of a match made in F1 hell. That being said, they do have a heck of a good driver in Pierre Gasly.
On the other side of the garage, they stared the season with F2 driver Jack Doohan. It’s clear that his management, the one-and-only Flavio Briatore, pushed hard for him to get into the seat, as they should have. But the performances just weren’t forthcoming and Doohan was returning to the pits on foot more than he should have. To illustrate the inner turmoil Briatore, a ‘senior advisor’ took over the running of the team after the departure of newly minted TP, Ollie Oakes, left the building.
Briatore’s first order of business? Replacing Doohan with Franco Colapinto. Yes, as Doohan’s manager. Colapinto had impressed in 2024 with a few races for Williams. To the point where several teams were, allegedly, after his signature. So, him being jettisoned into the Alpine seat brought with it the expectation that he would perform well. But the reality is that Colapinto hasn’t done much better than Doohan which might make the Australian and his two-wheel champion/legend father, Mick Doohan, feel even more aggrieved. For their next trick Alpine are allegedly (note: this is rumour) to be trying to lure Christian Horner to the team. Here’s hoping the team finds some direction if not only for the sake of Pierre Gasly.
Half a season remain for the rookies to stamp their authority on the cutthroat world of Formula 1. If they don’t, the dream might be over before they know it.
