Six New Rookies Entering Their First Full F1 Season in 2025: Here’s All You Need To Know | Sports News
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The 2025 season will see six full-time rookies come into Formula One, one shy of the record of seven, back in 2001.
F1 2025 Rookies conversing within themselves (Credit: F2)
Formula One will have a bumper crop of rookies this season, with six of the 20 drivers on the grid in Melbourne starting their first full season, even if only three of them are race debutants.
The 2025 season will see six full-time rookies come into Formula One, one shy of the record of seven, back in 2001.
Let’s take a look at their individual prospects ahead of the beginning of the new F1 season:
Andrea Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
Full Name: Andrea Kimi Antonelli
F1 Team: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
Junior Team: Mercedes Junior Team
Age on Debut: 18 years old
Nationality: Italian
2025 Driver Number: 12
The 18-year-old is Italy’s first F1 driver since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2021 and replaces seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the team lineup. Those are massive shoes to fill for someone who only passed his driving test in January, but Antonelli made a good start in testing, going fastest in the first session in Bahrain and making no mistakes. Mercedes are protective of him but also confident he is the real deal. “Kimi absolutely has the speed. He’s proven that in all of his categories,” says teammate George Russell.
Oliver BEARMAN (Haas)
Full Name: Oliver James Bearman
F1 Team: Moneygram Haas F1 Team
Junior Team: Ferrari Driver Academy
Age on Debut: 19 years old
Nationality: British
2025 Driver Number: 87
Ferrari Academy driver Bearman, 19, has already started three races, making a stunning debut with seventh place for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last year when Carlos Sainz had appendicitis. That made the tall Briton, at 18, the youngest F1 rookie to race for Ferrari. He then filled in twice at Haas for Kevin Magnussen, scoring a further point in Azerbaijan. Team boss Ayao Komatsu rates the Briton very highly, but experienced teammate Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who has joined from Alpine, will be the measure of his speed.
Gabriel BORTOLETO (Sauber)
Full name: Gabriel Bortoleto Oliveira
F1 Team: Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
Junior Team: McLaren Driver Development
Age on Debut: 20 years old
Nationality: Brazilian
2025 Driver Number: 5
Bortoleto, 20, is the reigning F2 champion and will be the first Brazilian full-time F1 driver since Felipe Massa retired in 2017. From Sao Paulo, he is a protege of Spain’s double world champion Fernando Alonso and will now be racing his manager. Bortoleto was previously a McLaren young driver and also won the F3 title as a rookie in 2023. Last year, he became the first driver to win an F2 feature race from last position. Sauber finished last overall in 2024 and is likely to remain there before becoming the Audi works team in 2026.
Jack DOOHAN (Alpine)
Full name: Jack Doohan
F1 Team: Alpine F1 Team
Junior Team: Alpine Driver Academy
Age on Debut: 22 years old
Nationality: Australian
2025 Driver Number: 7
The 22-year-old is the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick and won national titles in karting. He was runner-up in F3 in 2021 and third in F2 in 2023. He spent last year as Alpine reserve, making a race debut in Abu Dhabi last December as a replacement for Esteban Ocon. How long he stays in the seat remains to be seen, with Argentine Franco Colapinto waiting for his chance and a clear threat.
Isack HADJAR (Racing Bulls)
Full Name: Isack Alexandre Hadjar
F1 Team: VISA Cash App RB
Junior Team: Red Bull Junior Team
Age on Debut: 20 years old
Nationality: French-Algerian
2025 Driver Number: 6
Hadjar, 20, was runner-up to Bortoleto in F2 last season and has already been dubbed ‘Le Petit Prost’ by Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, after four-time world champion compatriot Alain Prost. He replaces Liam Lawson, who has moved to Red Bull, as teammate to Yuki Tsunoda. Hadjar is of Algerian descent and has dual nationality. His father, Yassine, has a PhD in quantum physics. Hadjar is quick and will impress if he can beat Tsunoda.
Liam LAWSON (Red Bull)
Full name: Liam Lawson
F1 Team: Oracle Red Bull Racing
Junior Team: Red Bull Junior Team
Age on Debut: 23 years old
Nationality: Kiwi
2025 Driver Number: 30
Lawson, 23, is the oldest and most experienced of the rookies and has already started 11 races and scored six points. The New Zealander debuted at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix when Daniel Ricciardo injured his hand while racing five times that year. He replaced the dropped Ricciardo from Austin onwards last year and was promoted to Red Bull when Sergio Perez lost his seat. He sees this year as a learning one, and his job is to help Max Verstappen win a fifth title and the team regain the constructors’ crown by scoring regular points.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)
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