Formula 1: Rookies Rise to the Challenge

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By Jayden Pantoja

If you’ve kept up to date with Formula 1 and what has happened over the past year, you’d know that change has come in the form of new drivers. Six different rookies who have competed in the lower tiers of the sport now set their sights into the world of Formula 1. Each of them has high expectations not just from their teams, but also from the world that has witnessed their talent. Will they be able to rise to the challenge for their first season?

The change began as the 2024 Formula 1 season started with the same drivers on the grid. But as the season progressed, seats started opening for teams like Williams, Alpine, Mercedes, Kick Sauber, and Haas. From drivers departing the sport like Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen, to shock transfers like 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton moving from Mercedes to Ferrari, teams were keen to find new talent. They didn’t need to look any further as talent was brewing in Formula 2.

One rookie that caught the attention of Mercedes was 18 year old Andrea Kimi Antonelli. After the news of Lewis Hamilton’s next move for 2025, Mercedes needed to find a driver that could pair alongside their other driver, George Russell. So, when they kept a close eye on Antonelli’s performance on his debut, they were left impressed by his results. At 15 years old, Antonelli won his first ADAC Formula 4 championship with the Prema Racing team. Eventually, he won more championships in the European categories which led to his promotion to Formula 2 with the same team. Two standout performances that he delivered were his first maiden sprint win at Silverstone under rainy conditions and his victory at the Hungaroring circuit.

As the second round of the 2024 Formula 1 season began in Saudi Arabia, Ferrari had a major problem. One of their drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr., underwent appendix surgery, which meant they needed to find another driver immediately. Luckily, there was a driver who was competing in Formula 2 at the same week that they had eyes on. 18-year-old Oliver Bearman was told to report to Ferrari in the paddock despite qualifying on pole in Formula 2. Once Ferrari confirmed that the surgery for Sainz was official, they announced that Bearman would substitute for Sainz and drive alongside Charles Leclerc. Although he had one free practice session and qualified eleventh, Bearman finished the race in an impressive seventh place, which put him on the Haas team radar, later securing him an official spot for the 2025 season. 

At just seven years old, Gabriel Bortoleto started winning national karting championships with the support of his father, Lincoln Oliveria. In 2020, he rose up to the ranks of the Italian Formula 4 series competing with Prema Racing. He finished fifth overall and earned his rank in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2021. Eventually, Bortoleto would be mentored by two-time Formula 1 world championship driver, Fernando Alonso who aided him to improve his skills, allowing him to join Formula 3. His consistent refinement led him to win the championship, 45 points ahead of his closest rival, Zak O’ Sullivan. When he stepped up to Formula 2 and joined Invicta Racing, Bortoleto had great performances, having two victories out of the six podiums he achieved leading him to win the championship. He was poised to stay with the McLaren driver development program, but with McLaren locking out Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for next season, he had to find a new path into Formula 1. Kick Sauber was the next move for him and it was confirmed that he would join the team for this season. 

At around the same age that Bortoleto competed in national karting championships, Isack Hadjar was also competing in karting championships. He would move on to the Ginetta Junior Winter sportscar series where he raced for Elite Motorsport. After that, he competed in a Formula 4 championship where he finished third in 2020. As he placed fifth in his debut season in the Formula Regional European championship a year after, he proved how much progress he made since he started. He went on to achieve third place in the standings at the 2022 Formula Regional Asian championship and fourth in Formula 3 the same year with Hitech Grand Prix. Hadjar would move up to Formula 2 with the Campos Racing team and would finish behind Bortoleto placing second in the standings. As a result of being in the Red Bull junior driver program, Hadjar first debuted with Red Bull in Formula 1’s free practice session at Mexico City in 2023. He also partook in another free practice session with the team at the British Grand Prix in 2024. 

Another driver who was in the same program as Hadjar was 22-year-old Australian driver, Jack Doohan. Jack started his karting career in 2012 when he was given his first kart from Michael Shumacher, a seven-time Formula 1 world champion. It took him three years to finally win his first Australian Karting Championship. He won again the year after and finished sixth in the standings for the FIA Karting European Championship. He rose up to the ranks of Formula 3 in 2021 and finished second in the standings and competed in Formula 2  finishing sixth in 2022. He competed one more time in 2023 and improved his standings position to third place. Alpine scouted him and he did private tests with the team, waiting for his approval to drive for them in Formula 1. When Esteban Ocon announced his departure from the team to go to Haas to become teammates with Oliver Bearman, Doohan took his place, becoming a confirmed driver to complete this year's lineup.

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Liam Lawson, a New Zealand racing driver, began his career with a great start with his 2019 championship achievement in the Toyota Racing Series. The Red Bull Junior program recruited him right after and Lawson competed in the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) series becoming partners with another Formula 1 driver, Alex Albon. Despite having a successful season with the Red Bull AF Corse team, he couldn’t claim the title that season. Driving for the Carlin Motorsport Formula 2 team, Lawson would get consistent points results which led him to be third in the 2022 season. He also competed in the Super Formula series and achieved second place in the championship with the Mugen racing team. As he became the reserve driver for the Red Bull Formula 1 team, he would make his debut in the Racing Bulls (Red Bull’s sister team) after Daniel Ricciardo injured himself at the Dutch Grand Prix. He would get his first points in the Singapore Grand Prix and would compete for a few more races until Ricciardo came back from his injury and Lawson became a reserve driver again. The year after, Ricciardo announced his retirement from the sport and Lawson took his place for the final six races. At the end of the 2024 season, Lawson got promoted to Red Bull Racing from the sister team to become teammates with the four-time Formula 1 world champion Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen. 

As the first two races happened in this year’s season, one rookie was able to have consistent results and is proving his worth to stay in the sport. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fourth in the tough Australian Grand Prix race and finished eighth in the Chinese Grand Prix, leaving him fifth in the standings so far. Oliver Bearman, despite having a rough start to the first race weekend, finished tenth in the Chinese Grand Prix, giving him a point. The other rookies were not so lucky, with Hadjar crashing in the formation lap in Australia and finishing fourteenth in the Chinese Grand Prix. Bortoleto, Doohan and Lawson were also victims in the Australian Grand Prix race due to the rainy conditions and crashed out. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Doohan, Lawson and Bortoleto finished in disappointing fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth places. After just two races, it was announced that Liam Lawson would be swapped back into the sister team while Yuki Tsunoda would be promoted to Red Bull Racing. 

The rookies have another chance to shine as Formula 1 heads into the first triple header of the season which will start at the Japanese Grand Prix. Now on that note, will they still be able to turn this around and show us the best season yet? Godspeed rookies.