Over a quarter of the race seats have been filled by rookies in the 2025 season, with six starting their debut seasons. Although some have had experience, this is the first time they have all started a season. The F1 rookies have faced some tough tests in their opening five races.
The changeable conditions in Australia proved difficult for all drivers, let alone rookies. For only their second race, the rookies were thrown a sprint race, and two tough tracks in Suzuka and Jeddah followed. So, how have the rookies fared?
Which F1 rookies have shone and who has floundered?
Oliver Bearman – 8/10
Oliver Bearman had a difficult start to the season. The Australian GP was a race weekend to forget for Brit as he made countless mistakes as he got used to this season’s Haas. Bearman had previously driven the Haas twice last season, but this year’s car is a different animal.
However, barring the opening weekend, Bearman has shone in a back-running car. He has scored 6 points and impressed in wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the field. The Bahrain GP was impressive for the 19-year-old. Bearman started last and managed to make his way through the field to finish in the points.
Bearman has been on a similar pace to teammate Esteban Ocon. This is impressive for the debutant Ferrari junior driver. Bearman needs to keep impressing in the Haas to potentially force his way into the Scuderia. He has made a good start but needs to continue this impressive form.
Kimi Antonelli – 8/10
Kimi Antonelli had big shoes to fill when replacing the seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025. It didn’t look good for the Italian in his opening race, as he was knocked out in Q1. However, he progressed well through the field to finish in fourth.
Ever since, Antonelli has impressed and raced well in the following four races. Despite George Russell finishing ahead of Antonelli in every race, Kimi has scored good points to keep Mercedes second in the constructors’ championship.
The one blemish on his copybook was in Bahrain, where Antonelli fell out of the points, but that was due to a poor strategy from the team.
Isack Hadjar – 7/10
Isack Hadjar’s F1 career didn’t get off to a good start. The Frenchman spun out on the formation lap in the rain-soaked Australian GP. However, Hadjar showed good pace that weekend in qualifying, finishing his first session in P11.
The Chinese GP showed quick progression as Hadjar put his Racing Bull in P7, two places ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. However, the race didn’t go to plan for either driver due to poor strategy from the team.
Hadjar scored his first F1 points in Japan and hasn’t looked back since. He has impressed with strong pace on race days and has beaten his new teammate Liam Lawson in every race. Hadjar left the difficult Australian GP behind him, showing good character, and has now shown what he can deliver on track.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 6/10
Gabriel Bortoleto came into the 2025 season as the reigning F2 champion. He was pitted against Nico Hulkenberg, who has been in F1 since 2010. It looked good for the Brazilian, who outqualified Hulkenberg in his first F1 outing in Australia. However, following the curtain raiser, Hulkenberg has been in firm control.
Bortoleto has made very few high-profile mistakes. The 20-year-old crashed out in Australia, although it did look like his rear suspension failed him. In China, Bortoleto spun on the first lap, giving the rookie a mountain to climb. And in Saudi Arabia, the youngster spun on his final lap just in front of Max Verstappen.
Bortoleto is in the slowest car on the grid, so scoring points and proving himself is difficult. He needs to keep on a similar pace to his more experienced teammate to show his potential. With Audi taking over the team next season, there could be a bigger opportunity to show what the Brazilian can do.
Jack Doohan – 3/10
Jack Doohan came into the 2025 season without any racing the previous year. He did start in the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP but didn’t make an impact in the race. However, Doohan has been convincingly beaten by his more experienced teammate Pierre Gasly.
Gasly is ahead in all the head-to-heads. He is yet to be beaten by Doohan in qualifying and has finished ahead of the Aussie in every race they have both finished. Doohan is yet to score a point in F1, while Gasly has recorded six points, with the Alpine challenging Williams and Racing Bulls for points.
Jack Doohan has also had a few incidents this season. In Australia, the 22-year-old crashed out on the first lap in wet conditions. During a practice session in Japan, the Aussie crashed in turn 1, damaging his Alpine severely. He is yet to show his potential and could be replaced by Franco Colapinto if his form doesn’t improve.
Liam Lawson – 2/10
Liam Lawson came into this season with eleven F1 races under his belt. Expectations were high for the Kiwi after his promotion to Red Bull. However, it has not gone his way. Mistakes in Australia cost Lawson as he was knocked out in the first qualifying session. In the race, he crashed out as the rain returned.
China didn’t get better for Lawson as he qualified last for both the sprint and main race. He was unable to progress into the points and was dropped by Red Bull. Looking for more luck in Racing Bulls, Lawson has not achieved better results.
In Japan and Bahrain, he was beaten by fellow rookie Isack Hadjar. The Saudi Arabia GP showed signs of improvement. In qualifying, he managed to beat Hadjar. However, in the race, Hadjar again got the upper hand and scored valuable points for Racing Bulls. Lawson also got a 10-second penalty for an incident with Jack Doohan. The race pace was there for the Kiwi, and he needs to continue to match his teammate or risk losing his seat.
