Who are the six “rookies” for the 2025 F1 season?

In the 75-year history of Formula 1, 2024 was the first season to start without any new recruits. This year, in what almost seems like an attempt to compensate for this absence, a new generation of talented young drivers is ready to refresh the premier category, and show the old guns who have been in the discipline for years what it is capable of.

Six rookies, aged 18 to 22, will line up on the starting grid in Melbourne next March to begin their first full season, all with varying degrees of pressure on their shoulders. Meet the young pilots who will be looking to assert themselves.

Liam Lawson

Age : 22 ans

Team : Red Bull

First of all, it should be noted that Liam Lawson is technically no longer considered a rookie. Like Oliver Bearman, both drivers have already participated in several Grands Prix, but to have “beginner” status in Formula 1, you must have completed less than three races. The New Zealander is still on this list since he will begin his first full season in the discipline in 2025, like Bearman.

With barely a dozen Grands Prix under his belt in his F1 career, Liam Lawson has won one of the most coveted seats, but paradoxically one of the least enviable. The Kiwi driver, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Racing Bulls from last year's United States Grand Prix, will have his work cut out for him when he moves to Red Bull alongside reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen. Lawson has been waiting patiently in the wings of the Red Bull family for years, and has proven himself to be a serious contender with a rather varied junior career spanning DTM, Super Formula and F2.

However, he has struggled to win fans' sympathy since arriving in the paddock, having replaced one of the most beloved drivers, Ricciardo, and overtaken his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, to secure the vacant seat at Red Bull. Nevertheless, his rapid promotion remains an indicator of his talent, but also of the confidence placed in him by Red Bull. A confidence that is sometimes difficult to maintain, as the careers of Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly have shown.

Lawson will therefore begin his 2025 season with some additional pressure compared to other rookies. He will be associated with Max Verstappen in one of the most formidable teams in the discipline. However, Red Bull appear to see Lawson as their future golden boy in a post-Verstappen era that inevitably draws closer, and so he is unlikely to be let go if he has a few bad races, but the pressure certainly remains.

Jack Doohan

Age : 21 ans

Team : Alpine

Jack Doohan's arrival in F1 seemed somewhat inevitable. After all, it was seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher who gave him his first kart. But the son of motorcycling legend Mick Doohan is one of the lesser-known of the new crop of rookies and that's largely because he was an Alpine reserve while his counterparts racked up wins and titles in lower categories.

He appeared on the grid unexpectedly during the final race of the 2024 season, when he replaced Esteban Ocon out of the blue. The 21-year-old young man, new partner of Pierre Gasly within the French team, certainly finished outside the points at Yas Marina, but approaches 2025 with a round where he will be keen to perform, his home Grand Prix. in Australia.

The strange decision to sideline Ocon ahead of Abu Dhabi means Doohan won't have to find out everything in Melbourne. His compatriot Ricciardo has often complained about the intense media attention surrounding the Australian Grand Prix, and Alpine will therefore hope that this pressure will be eased as Doohan has already spent a full weekend in the car.

The Australian also has hundreds of simulator hours under his belt. He worked at the Enstone factory following his F2 campaigns in 2022 and 2023. Although he has all the right people in his entourage and several victories in his junior career, it remains to be seen how competitive he will be and if the team will be able to give him a car that will allow him to show what he can do.

As far as Alpine is concerned, 2024 has been a year of ups and downs for the team led by Oliver Oakes. Much of the structure has been overhauled over the past 12 months, after a few up-and-down seasons, but the internal turmoil appears to have calmed under the leadership of Flavio Briatore, at least for now.

Oliver Bearman

Age : 19 ans

Team : Haas

Oliver Bearman.

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Thanks to social media, drivers don't have to wait to win world titles to build a community of fans. This is the case for Oliver Bearman and his army of 2.4 million followers on Instagram. He is a charismatic young man who represents a new generation of pilots who are very aware of their social presence and the audience with which they connect. Like many Gen Z athletes and celebrities, Bearman doesn't seem overly concerned with crafting a manicured persona, which has allowed him to resonate with swaths of fans, even before he's put on feet in the F1 paddock.

Of course, he also indirectly owes a lot to Carlos Sainz and his setbacks at the start of last season. When the Spaniard had to undergo surgery for an appendicitis attack in Saudi Arabia, Bearman was called in to replace him and so made his F1 debut with Ferrari, finishing seventh on a notoriously difficult Jeddah circuit. He wrote his story a little more later in the season by scoring points in his second race, this time in Haas colors, after Kevin Magnussen's suspension in Azerbaijan.

Despite winning several races during his junior career in F2 and F3, Bearman doesn't come to F1 with a CV full of titles like some of his counterparts. His excellent performances during his first outings in F1, however, remind us that the results obtained in promotional formulas are far from being sufficient to determine the potential of a driver. The 19-year-old will certainly be one to watch when he partners Ocon in 2025 and strives to push Haas into the midfield.

Kimi Antonelli

Age : 18 ans

Team : Mercedes

Some Antonelli.

Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Taking the place of a seven-time world champion is not easy. But if anyone can do it, it might be Kimi Antonelli, at least according to Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss is convinced the young Italian is the next Verstappen and the team have taken some risk with their whirlwind promotion.

Antonelli's story already has the air of a fairy tale: in 2018, then aged 12, he was partnered with Hamilton as Grid Kid during the Italian Grand Prix. “Remember you are the best, you can win”whispered the young boy to his hero, who then won the victory. Six years later, Antonelli replaced his idol in one of the most successful teams of the modern era.

Today the 18-year-old, who won championships in Italian F4, German F4 and Formula Regional, before finishing sixth in his debut F2 campaign, is described as a generational talent and is tipped to become the first Italian to win a Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006.

There is no doubt that he carries on his shoulders the hopes of a nation beyond passionate about F1, with over a million followers on Instagram to prove it. Although he has not yet made his debut in the discipline, Antonelli's exit during FP1 at Monza was a reminder of his speed, but also of the rookie mistakes he is likely to make after putting the car in gear. George Russell in the wall. One thing is certain: Antonelli has great responsibilities to assume and great pressure to manage.

Gabriel Bortoleto

Age : 20 ans

Team : Stake Sauber

Gabriel Bortoleto.

Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Gabriel Bortoleto arrives in F1 with a flawless record and the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders. The Brazilian was relatively unknown until he started winning F3 races, and eventually the title in 2023. The following year, he joined an illustrious club consisting of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri, who all won the F3 and then F2 championships consecutively.

Bortoleto, who signed a deal with Sauber shortly before being crowned champion, has impressed throughout his 2024 campaign, with his most notable performance coming at Monza, where he rose from last to first place. When he was approached by the Swiss team, he did not hesitate before signing for the structure that will become Audi in 2026, despite his presence in McLaren's driver development program, given the long-term commitment term of the British team with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Sauber will be an ideal environment for the 20-year-old, who will be able to learn the ropes from an F1 veteran, his future teammate Nico Hülkenberg. The team is expected to remain at the back of the pack in 2025 as it focuses its resources on 2026. Only time will tell how well Bortoleto will adapt to F1 after a very successful junior career.

Isack Hadjar

Age: 20 years old

Team: Racing Bulls

Isack Hadjar.

Photo de: Red Bull Content Pool

Isack Hadjar is the latest recruit to join the 2025 grid. The former Red Bull junior was promoted to Racing Bulls at the end of December, after Lawson vacated the seat to replace Sergio Pérez in the main team. The French-Algerian driver has proven himself over the years and his name has long been mentioned when it comes to talking about the team's most promising prospects. However, he doesn't have a world record to break or big expectations on his shoulders, which makes Racing Bulls a good place to start and gain experience from an experienced driver like Tsunoda.

Hadjar doesn't have a championship title, but that statistic doesn't do justice to his obvious talent. In F2, he has won more races than any other driver and his reaction time was widely praised when he narrowly escaped a crash in the Monaco tunnel last year.