The class of 2025 – What to expect from F1’s huge rookie intake

The new Formula 1 season will see the largest rookie intake in years, with five youngsters slotting in up and down the grid from Mercedes to Sauber. Here’s what to expect from the class of ’25.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes’ long-term protege handed an early start

Leading the 2025 rookie intake in terms of fan and media attention is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who after an intense preparation programme has been trusted to take over Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. Antonelli is the latest product of Mercedes’ young driver programme, following in the footsteps of the likes of Esteban Ocon and George Russell.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The Italian joined the programme as an 11-year-old and blitzed through the European karting scene, following a smooth transition to single-seater racing with double F4 titles in 2022 as well as a dominant Formula Regional title the following year.

Mercedes has been keen to keep the pressure off the barely 18-year-old phenom, especially following a crash on his FP1 debut in Monza where he had been immediately impressing with his raw burst of pace. And while Antonelli is effectively replacing Hamilton as Russell’s team-mate, he will not be expected to seamlessly slot into the seven-time world champion’s seat. Instead, the team is viewing him as an understudy to Russell, much like Russell was to Hamilton.

One risk is Antonelli’s lack of single-seater experience, having been fast-tracked through the ladder – skipping F3 – to be ready for Hamilton’s earlier-than-planned departure. And unlike Russell, who was allowed to mature at Williams for three years before being promoted, Antonelli is strapping straight into a frontline seat. But having been carefully managed by Mercedes since the age of 11, he will be afforded enough time to acclimatise to all facets of being an F1 driver.

“It’s about managing expectations next year, his, ours and also those of the fans, and just letting him develop,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said at the end of last season.

“There will be moments when we pull our hair out because of mistakes, and then there will be moments of brilliance again, when you see how this talent comes through. But the main thing is to develop over the next year. 2026 is very important for us as an engine manufacturer and we want to have him ready by then.”

Oliver Bearman – Is Haas polishing a future Ferrari driver?

Antonelli’s F2 team-mate Oliver Bearman is another high-profile rookie of the current crop, a profile entirely of his own making after several standout performances driving for both Ferrari and Haas through three grand prix cameos in 2024. The 19-year-old Briton particularly impressed with his last-minute substitute appearance for Carlos Sainz in Jeddah, producing a mature drive to claim debut points in seventh.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, waves at fans in the grandstands

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

Replacing Kevin Magnussen on two occasions at Haas, he beat experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in Baku but then suffered a much more difficult Brazilian Grand Prix, though he was far from the only driver to be caught out in the pouring rain.

But that experience will stand the Ferrari junior in good stead as he embarks on his first full-time campaign with Haas. Bearman will get the experienced Esteban Ocon as his team-mate and benchmark, and on the evidence of 2024, he is expected to waste little time to keep the Frenchman on his toes. With Ferrari closely monitoring progress during his Haas loan, Bearman will get the next two seasons to convince the Scuderia he can be a long-term replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

One big supporter of Bearman is Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu, who has seen enough to be convinced Bearman has everything it takes to do exactly that. “He is a Ferrari driver and we’ve got him for two years – plus an option for an extra one – but if we do a good job and if Ollie does a good job, there’s no way Ferrari can ignore that,” Komatsu said.

“I don’t treat him as a rookie in the sense, because we pay lots of attention to what he has to say. Every time he gets in the car, his feedback’s been excellent. The approach has been excellent, speed has been great. You saw in Baku and Interlagos, both qualifying sessions he out-qualified Nico, who was our reference.”

Isack Hadjar – Red Bull’s latest junior must show maturity at Racing Bulls

Isack Hadjar is the latest member fresh off the Red Bull junior conveyor belt, a supply line which has creaked and groaned over the past few years as Red Bull has suffered from the odd gap in its historically hugely productive programme.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull has gone towards more of a bottom-heavy approach, backing several drivers at karting and F4 level but fewer at the business end of the ladder towards an F1 seat. So, when Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the Red Bull family didn’t work out and Red Bull decided to move on from Sergio Perez, it was even tempted to look outside its own pool of talents for its next F1 driver.

Ultimately it decided to stick to its guns and promote first Liam Lawson and then Hadjar, who despite his natural turn of speed has yet to fully convince Red Bull that he is a long-term prospect. Like his 2025 team-mate Yuki Tsunoda before him, Hadjar is seen as a raw diamond who still needs polishing of several of his technical and soft skills to progress into a frontline F1 driver, and the 20-year-old now gets the opportunity to do so.

Infamously, there is little time for adaptation in the Red Bull family, so Hadjar would do well to hit the ground running and translate the speed he has shown during his runner-up campaign in F2. With 17-year-old prodigy Arvid Lindblad, Red Bull’s next talent is already waiting in the wings and is expected to get a significant amount of F1 seat time in 2025 to be ready for 2026. That would align with Red Bull’s strategy of having a fifth driver ready to step in when required, keeping its regular drivers on their toes.

“We’re excited to have Isack with us next year, bringing a new and fresh dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025,” Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies said. “His journey to Formula 1 has been nothing short of outstanding, he has shown remarkable growth. He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact.

Jack Doohan – Will Alpine debutant feel the heat from Colapinto?

It is rather peculiar for a rookie to come under pressure before even getting started, but that appears to be what is happening to Jack Doohan. The son of motorbike legend Mick Doohan has been a long-time member of the Red Bull junior programme but left for Alpine ahead of the 2022 season, which would be his first of two full seasons in F2 after finishing runner-up in the 2021 F3 season.

Jack Doohan, Alpine A524

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

Doohan finished a respectable sixth in 2022 and then third in 2023, while also being drafted in by Alpine to become its F1 reserve driver, having completed several tests and FP1 sessions throughout 2023. A year on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve followed, until Esteban Ocon’s departure from Alpine opened the door for Doohan to graduate to F1 after all, a prospect that seemed doubtful up until that point.

Like Bearman, Doohan was afforded a headstart by replacing Ocon at the Abu Dhabi season finale. Yet even as a confirmed full-time driver alongside Pierre Gasly for 2025, it doesn’t appear as though Doohan will get all the time in the world to make an impact. At the start of the year, Alpine announced a deal with Williams to sign Franco Colapinto to its pool of reserve drivers, with Williams agreeing to let the Argentinian go to give him “the best chance of securing a race seat in 2025 or 2026”, per Williams chief James Vowles.

While Red Bull eventually decided against moving for the highly-rated Colapinto, his quick adaptation to his nine-race stint with Williams made an impression up and down the paddock, and as such he has an eight-race head start on Doohan in terms of grand prix experience.

Most observers expect Alpine’s advisor Flavio Briatore to waste little time pushing to make the swap if Doohan doesn’t convince early on, though team principal Oliver Oakes insisted Doohan will get a fair shot.

“He’s getting his fair crack at it next year, and I think the intention there isn’t to put [pressure] on his shoulders,” Oakes said. “We need to make sure we’ve got the best drivers in the race car, not just now, but also in the future. For us, it just keeps everyone honest in terms of how they’re performing and gives us options.”

Gabriel Bortoleto – F2 champion is Sauber/Audi’s long-term prospect

Gabriel Bortoleto had never been a serial winner in the entry-level junior formulae, but the 20-year-old Brazilian more than made up for that by taking back-to-back titles in his rookie seasons in F3 and F2, a feat last achieved by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Whether or not the highly-rated Bortoleto will emulate Piastri’s rapid rise in F1 remains to be seen, but as the Australian and team-mate Lando Norris are well established at McLaren, the Woking squad was willing to do a deal with Sauber to allow its Brazilian junior driver to make his F1 debut with the Swiss team.

Out of all the rookies this year perhaps Bortoleto is in the most comfortable position, if even there is such a thing in F1. He will be partnered by fellow signing Nico Hulkenberg, whose experience will stand Bortoleto in good stead. At the same time, joining the team that finished last in the 2024 season, and doesn’t appear to have immediate solutions at hand to improve its fortunes, takes away some of the pressure and diverts the spotlight to others on this list.

Managed by Fernando Alonso’s A14 management agency, Bortoleto will be able to develop his game at Sauber before it morphs into the Audi project in 2026, and barring a complete disaster and the unlikely event of being demolished by Hulkenberg, the talented Brazilian should be able to put the building blocks in place of a promising F1 career, with Sauber chief Mattia Binotto keen to stress Bortoleto is seen as a long-term project integral to the team’s transformation into Audi.

“What he is achieving, the way he is driving impressed me,” said Binotto. “But more than that it’s his capacity to develop, improve and progress. Having secured Gabriel on a multi-year contract is important for us. Audi has committed to a long journey and to start the journey together with a young driver was important.”

Bortoleto is the son of Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series boss Lincoln Oliveira and will become the first full-time Brazilian F1 driver since Felipe Massa in 2017, handing a boost to F1’s passionate Brazilian fanbase and its popular Sao Paulo Grand Prix.