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Laurence Edmondson
In 2025, 30% of the Formula 1 grid will be made up of rookies, with six drivers making their full season debut this year. Three of those rookies have one or more grand prix starts to their name, but none of them (including Red Bull’s Liam Lawson) have started a season as a named race driver for an F1 team.
You may already be familiar with the “new” names in F1 this year, but below we map out the unique challenges and opportunities facing each one.
Race number: 12
Racing record:
2024: Formula 2, finished sixth (two wins)
2023: FRECA champion (nine wins)
2022: German and Italian F4 champion
When Toto Wolff found out Lewis Hamilton would leave for Ferrari in 2025, it took him all of five minutes to decide on Antonelli as the seven-time champion’s replacement. Such a vote of confidence in a then-17-year-old tells you all you need to know about how highly Mercedes rates Antonelli — and illustrates the hype that’s ladened on his shoulders long before his debut race.
To prepare the Italian teenager for his high-profile arrival in F1, Mercedes has provided more than 5,500 miles of private testing in previous cars. It was during these tests that Antonelli’s raw pace shone through and his ability to drive a car to its limit already has near-legendary status.
At the Italian’s announcement last year, Wolff highlighted a wet F3 test at Silverstone where Antonelli jumped in the car, went out on track and returned to the pits four seconds faster than the next-best driver. His heroic win at the Motorsport Games with a broken wrist in 2022 also add to the burgeoning Antonelli legend, while pointing to an underlying resilience that will no doubt serve him well in F1.
Despite the overarching promise, questions remain over his consistency. At last year’s Italian Grand Prix, Antonelli was given a chance to drive George Russell‘s W15 in first practice. His opening lap was way faster than the team’s engineers expected (or asked for), but his second lap ended deep in the crash barriers at the Parabolica.
Mistakes are to be expected early on in any F1 career, and Wolff has made clear that he’d rather have a fast driver who crashes than a slow driver who keeps out of trouble, but a clean start to the season will still be high on Antonelli’s wish list.
Race number: 87
Racing record:
2024: Formula 1, finished 18th from three starts (7 points); Formula 2, finished 12th (three wins)
2023: Formula 2, finished 6th (four wins)
2022: Formula 3, finished 3rd (one win)
2021: Italian and German F4 champion
Bearman is among the drivers on this list who already have F1 race experience to their name ahead of their first full season. When Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari turned to Bearman, then just 18 years old, to step up as his replacement.
With just one practice session to prepare, Bearman secured 11th on the grid in qualifying before scoring points on his F1 debut with a seventh-place finish in the race. Later in the season he also subbed for Kevin Magnussen at Haas when the Dane was banned over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend and fell ill in Brazil. Both Haas and Ferrari were impressed by the consistency of Bearman’s performances, and his pace when he outqualified Haas teammate Nico Hülkenberg in Brazil.
The sporadic F1 callups were part of the reason Bearman’s F2 campaign looks rather average on paper, but he still scored three sprint race victories over the course of the year. His Ferrari links mean there is a clear path for Bearman to progress in the coming years, and Haas seems like the perfect environment for him to get up to speed.
Race number: 5
Racing record:
2024: Formula 2 champion (two wins)
2023: Formula 3 champion (two wins)
2022: FRECA, finished 6th (two wins)
It only seems right that the reigning Formula 2 champion earns a place on the Formula 1 grid, and that’s exactly what Sauber has offered Bortoleto for 2025. What’s more, the Brazilian is that rare breed of F2 champion who not only won the title at his first attempt but also secured the Formula 3 championship the year before. Only three drivers have achieved that feat in recent years — Russell, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc — meaning Bortoleto is already in exalted company.
Consistency was the key to his F2 title success last year, with just two race victories and two pole positions over the course of the season but a total of 19 top-six finishes helping him amass 214.5 points.
By joining Sauber, a team that was rooted firmly to the back of the grid in 2024, he has his work cut out, but it’s also a team in transition as it builds towards its rebranding as Audi in 2026. The Brazilian was targeted by team boss Mattia Binotto towards the end of last season (whereas his new teammate Hülkenberg was signed by previous management earlier in the year) so he should have plenty of support as he gets up to speed.
Race number: 7
Racing record:
2024: Alpine reserve driver (raced Abu Dhabi GP)
2023: Formula 2, finished 3rd (three wins)
2022: Formula 2, finished 6th (three wins)
2021: Formula 3, finished 2nd (four wins)
Doohan, the son of five-time MotoGP world champion Mick, has been knocking on the door of F1 for some time. After sitting on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver last year, he became a leading candidate to make the step up when it became clear Esteban Ocon would not continue at the team beyond 2024.
He was confirmed as a 2025 race driver off the back of a series of strong private tests with Alpine, and made his grand prix debut at the final race of 2024 after Haas-bound Ocon was pushed towards the exit by the team’s management. Despite Alpine’s desire to fast track his arrival, Doohan’s future is already the least certain on this list.
It seems harsh to speculate about a driver’s position before the season has even started, but Alpine’s decision to hire Franco Colapinto on a multi-year contract in January does not bode well for the Australian. Colapinto impressed during his nine races with Williams in 2024 and would be the perfect candidate to slot into a race seat in 2025 should it become available. His presence leaves Doohan with zero margin for error at the opening few races, as any perceived lack of performance or a big error would provide the perfect excuse for an early-season swap.
Race number: 6
Racing record:
2024: Formula 2 runner-up (four wins)
2023: Formula 2, finished 14th
2022: Formula 3, finished 4th (three wins)
2021: FRECA, finished 5th (two wins)
The fallout of Sergio Pérez’s post-season exit from the senior Red Bull team opened a space for Hadjar to join Racing Bulls for 2025. In truth, Hadjar knew of his promotion before the final race of the season, taking some of the pressure off his Formula 2 title showdown with fellow 2025 rookie Bortoleto. As the next Red Bull junior driver in line, he was the obvious choice to fill the gap left by Lawson’s promotion, but there was a stage when the team’s management was seriously considering Colapinto instead.
Hadjar is undoubtedly quick and won twice as many races in F2 last year than eventual champion Bortoleto, but a late-season slump, in which he failed to score a point at two consecutive races in Monza and Baku, ultimately proved costly for his hopes of claiming the F2 crown. Radio outbursts were another theme of Hadjar’s F2 campaign, something that might not be tolerated by a Red Bull-owned F1 team.
Liam Lawson | 22 | Red Bull
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Why Saunders is backing Liam Lawson to win an F1 race in 2025
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Race number: 30
Racing record:
2024: Formula 1, finished 21st from six starts (4 points)
2023: Formula 1, finished 20th from five starts (2 points); Japanese Super Formula, finished 2nd (three wins)
2022: Formula 2, finished 3rd (four wins)
2021: Formula 2, finished 9th (one win)
2020: Formula 3, finished 5th (three wins)
2019: Formula 3, finished 11th
With 11 grand prix appearances over two years to his name, it’s a stretch to call Lawson a rookie, but 2025 will be the first time he approaches an F1 season with a guaranteed seat from the start. The experience from those 11 races will prove invaluable as his rookie season comes attached to the toughest job in motorsport: teammate to Max Verstappen.
Since arriving at Red Bull in 2016, Verstappen has gone up against four teammates (Pérez, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo) and, apart from Ricciardo who left of his own accord, he’s made all of them look distinctly average. In that sense, Lawson is entering the lion’s den, but it comes with the promise of a year with a race-winning car — something no driver would ever turn down.
With Red Bull running out of junior options and seemingly opposed to the idea of promoting Yuki Tsunoda from Racing Bulls, there is a stronger desire than ever to make Lawson’s arrival work. The New Zealander’s no-nonsense approach and aggressive racing style were what made him stand out over Tsunoda, and both will be crucial if he is to make Red Bull a permanent home.
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