The start of the 2025 Formula 1 season saw the introduction of six rookies, including a few familiar faces we’ve seen before on the grid. This has been the biggest shake-up we’ve seen in F1 for a long time, with this many young talents making their debut.
Six became seven when Franco Colapinto made his return in Imola, replacing fellow rookie Jack Doohan at Alpine after a string of poor performances for the Enstone-based team. So, which rookies have excelled, and which have fallen short?
Here is our ranking of the 2025 rookies so far:
7. Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan made his debut in Melbourne at the start of the season with Alpine, after several practice session appearances for the team as a member of their driver development programme. Doohan failed to keep up with teammate Pierre Gasly, and rumours arose that the Australian would be replaced by Franco Colapinto, after the Argentinian’s impressive stint in the second half of the 2024 season with Williams.
Alpine team boss Flavio Briatore remained critical of Doohan, and Colapinto replaced him for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola after a pointless run with only six races with the team.
6. Franco Colapinto
It’s been a tumultuous run for the Argentinian since he replaced Doohan, with a series of crashes and no points going into the summer break. After a promising debut with Williams after replacing Logan Sargeant mid-way through 2024, it seemed like Colapinto was the ideal replacement for Doohan; however, he has also failed to match Gasly’s performance.
🚨 | Franco Colapinto on returning to F1:
“Really excited, everything is new – I start from zero,” says Colapinto when he is asked about being back.”
“I’ve had a chance to reflect on last year and learn from it. Never nice circumstances to step into a driver’s seat but you… pic.twitter.com/7Ocfj0B2hT
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) May 15, 2025
Heading into the summer break, it remains unclear whether Colapinto will complete the season with Alpine. He replaced Doohan with a deal that agreed he would do five races with the team, and has competed in eight Grand Prixs. Will he be returning to Zandvoort?
5. Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson only managed two races at Red Bull before he was swapped with Yuki Tsunoda and sent back to VCARB. Struck by the ‘second seat curse’, Lawson’s performance compared to Max Verstappen’s was insufficient, and he seems to have settled back into VCARB well.
Lawson’s performance has steadily improved since rejoining the sister team, but he has been outperformed consistently by teammate Isack Hadjar.
4. Oliver Bearman
It has been a solid start to the year for Ollie Bearman, with several appearances in the points for the British driver. It has been a close fight in the midfield all season so far, so it has been impressive to see Bearman scoring points for Haas alongside an experienced teammate like Esteban Ocon.
Bearman wowed in his F1 debut last season in Jeddah with Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz, who was suffering from appendicitis. He finished the race in an impressive P7. Since then, we have seen him settle in nicely to his seat at Haas – what will the second half of the season bring?
3. Andrea Kimi Antonelli
After a strong debut that saw him stepping into the shoes of 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli enters the summer break at a crossroads. His first few races with Mercedes showed promise; however, the young Italian has faced performance issues over the last few race weekends.
Having claimed a podium in Canada and a Sprint pole position in Miami, Antonelli’s skills are unquestionable, but with rumours of performance-based crisis talks at Mercedes and a series of Q1 eliminations, it is clear that the 18-year-old will want to come back in Zandvoort stronger.
2. Gabriel Bortoleto
Bortoleto finishes the first half of the season on a high, after two consecutive points finishes and his career best performance that saw him finish the Hungarian Grand Prix in sixth. Bortoleto’s performance this season is even more impressive when considering the car, although it is clear that Kick Sauber has made strides in their performance this year.
Driver of the day ✅
Best career finish ✅
Big celebrations 🔜#HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/bWjG5hBuMM— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) August 3, 2025
The team is on a fantastic run after solid performances from both Bortoleto and teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who claimed his maiden podium at the British Grand Prix. If the team continues with this momentum, it suggests a promising second half of the season for the rookie driver.
1. Isack Hadjar
French rookie driver Hadjar tops our list after an impressive run in the VCARB. Hadjar finishes the first half of his debut season with 22 points and a series of top-10 finishes. He has continuously outperformed Lawson, his more experienced teammate, and has shown strong pace throughout the season.
Hadjar is currently the only driver on the grid without a Q1 exit, an astonishing feat for a driver in their rookie season, and with Tsunoda unable to match Verstappen’s performance, could we see the Frenchman make the step up to Red Bull?
Who will be Rookie of the Year?
With such close competition in the midfield, it is hard to predict who will come out on top. Mercedes is hoping to come back stronger in the second half of the season, according to Toto Wolff, which could improve Antonelli’s chances of picking up bigger points hauls.
Fernando Alonso has waded in as well, boldly claiming that Bortoleto, managed by the two-time World Champion, would receive more praise for his performance if he were a British driver.
F1 is set to return in Zandvoort later this month, and with 10 more races to go, who has been your Rookie of the Year so far? Hadjar? Bearman? Maybe even Alonso?
