F1 2025 rookies - carnage is around the corner?
The 2024 F1 season was the only season in F1 history without a single pre-season transfer of any from the 20 drivers on the grid. Regardless of some changes in the middle of the season, for instance, Franco Colapinto replacing Logan Sargeant in Williams, this rarity will not repeat this season. Let me introduce you 6+1 rookies or less experienced drivers that will join the grid from the start of the season.
1. Liam Lawson - Red Bull Racing: Starting chronologically with the one from the strongest team, Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Peréz after his catastrophic second half of the 2024 season. Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo in Alpha Tauri/VCARB twice - first in 2023 after Ricciardo broke his wrist and then in 2024 when Daniel was kicked from this little Red Bull family after inappropriate results. Lawson took the opportunity and drove like a madman, especially against Perez when the Mexican was about to overtake him at the Mexico Grand Prix. He impressed Christian Horner more than Yuki Tsunoda, who is going to race for Alpha Tauri/VCARB for the fifth season in a row. I honestly think that the New Zealander will be under massive pressure because his teammate is mighty Max Verstappen - a four-time world champion.
2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes: After Lewis Hamilton decided to leave the Mercedes family and join Ferrari for the upcoming seasons, Mercedes had to find a brand new driver for their lineup. They probably got inspired by the unification of Red Bull and Max Verstappen because they decided to sign 18-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli. This might seem like a surprising move. Antonelli came to Formula 2, which is a lower championship than F1, just last year, and he was able to finish just sixth. Nonetheless, before joining Formula 1, he was dominant in every single series he raced in, and in his first ever F2 season, he has beaten his teammate from Prema Racing, Oliver Bearman, in overall standings. Additionally, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff let Antonelli do practice laps for an overall length of 20 Grand Prix, according to trustworthy sources. Everyone is curious about the further progress of Antonelli's career and about his ability to score the desired amount of points.
Note: In the picture, there's Andrea KImi Antonelli with his former Prema teammate Oliver Bearman.
3. Jack Doohan - Alpine:
If you have ever watched the MotoGP races before, the surname "Doohan" might sound familiar to you. Jack Doohan is the son of mighty motorbike racer Mick Doohan, however, Jack decided to try 4-wheel racing. The young Australian will compete for Alpine as a replacement for Esteban Ocon, who left for Haas. He looks like a reasonable choice - he finished third in the overall standings in Formula 2 in 2023. Jack is talented, whereas he is going to be under pressure from the beginning of the season. There's a rumour that Jack has just 5 races to adapt to the team, and in case he won't deliver acceptable results, he will be replaced by Franco Colapinto, who joined Alpine as a reserve driver.
4. Isack Hadjar - VCARB:
Probably the biggest surprise on this year's grid - Hadjar is a runner-up for the 2024 Formula 2 championship title; nonetheless, there weren't any speculations on him joining the grid for 2025. On the other hand, he drove quite well in F2 last season, considering he won 4 races and finished on the podium multiple times. I expected Colapinto to join VCARB, nevertheless, the Red Bull family is flexible in making decisions about who will race for their dynasty, which means that some unexpected changes in the middle of the season are possible.
5. Ollie Bearman - Haas:
The story of Oliver Bearman is quite stocking. In his two F2 seasons, he secured sixth and twelfth place overall, which might not be something spectacular. Despite being completely inexperienced in Formula 1 and additionally a F2 driver, he was the only driver in the 2024 season to score points for 2 different F1 teams. First, he finished seventh in the Saudi Arabia GP with Ferrari, after replacing Carlos Sainz, who had to remove his appendix. Later on, he replaced Kevin Magnussen in Haas for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Magnussen got a 1 race ban for collecting 12 penalty points. He was able to finish tenth with the slow Haas, which is an incredible result for a rookie. Haas was delighted by his performances and decided to offer him a seat for the 2025 season.
6. Gabriel Bortoleto - Sauber:
The last rookie I am going to talk about is the Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto. Chronologically, I'm introducing him as the last brand new driver on the grid because Saber was the slowest team last season. Nevertheless, Bortoleto looks like a solid driver overall. He conquered the Formula 3 Championship in 2023 and won the Formula 2 one last year. Because of that, Sauber decided to line him up alongside Nico Hülkenberg for the next season, however, I think that he is going to struggle a lot thanks to the weak performances of this team, which is evolving to Audi from next season onwards.
7. BONUS - Fernando Alonso:
This name might be a bit surprising. Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, is the most experienced driver on the grid - so why is he up there? To clarify this situation, many people make jokes about Alonso's appearance in Formula 1 because he competed in Formula 1 for the first time in 2001 - none of the drivers above were already born, by the way. Nonetheless, his retirement is irresistibly closing. For instance, he recently accepted to become a mentor of Gabriel Bortoleto - and thanks to him, Bortoleto is in Formula 1!
Jakub Ondruš
Sources: Wikipedia
https://www.planetf1.com/news/helmut-marko-liam-lawson-red-bull-rb21-f1-2025-testing-decision<br>