How the F1 rookies have fared after five rounds of 2025

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 6th, 38 points

If 2025 was supposed to be a learning year for Andrea Kimi Antonelli before firing on full cylinders when Formula 1’s new regulations come online, then the 18-year-old has definitely been drinking from a firehose of information over the past five grands prix, trading more messy weekends with races where he has shown his innate class.

The race on Bahrain’s abrasive circuit, where Mercedes put him on a three-stopper, was one of the former, but taking fourth on his debut at a mixed-weather Australian Grand Prix showed he belonged from day one. While Antonelli was always going to face a learning curve mastering tyre management and extracting peak performance from these capricious ground-effect cars, he was quietly probably hoping to avoid a 6-0 qualifying record against George Russell. But in the Italian’s defence, Russell has arguably been in the best form of his career so far. Mercedes will be happy with the untapped potential it is seeing, but not surprised.

What Antonelli is saying

“[The triple-header] was a good test physically, mentally, but also really good learning because it was three completely different tracks, so it was good to experience that and probably needs to still work a little bit especially on open tarmacs where the degradation is higher, but I think in Jeddah it was good learning from Bahrain and I was happy with how I managed the tyres in the second stint. It’s definitely a massive learning [opportunity] and now I have a week off, so I have time to gather all the information and think about it properly in order to be stronger.”

Oliver Bearman – 13th, 6 points

Oliver Bearman opened his account as a full-time driver with an uncharacteristically messy weekend in Melbourne, spinning into the gravel in FP3 and then going off again in the race. But in the words of Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu “the real Ollie we know” then stood up and delivered in the same vein of his three-race cameo in 2024.

The Briton has qualified higher on average than experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon, and the pair forged a strong relationship that saw Haas finish the first leg of the season in sixth place on 20 points, half of which thanks to Ocon’s excellent fifth place in China. But Bearman has also contributed with three consecutive points-scoring weekends amid fierce midfield competition. Komatsu will have zero complaints over signing the pair so far.

What Bearman is saying

“I’m quite happy with how it’s going. Australia was really difficult, but we turned it around quickly and brought a small upgrade to the car, which allowed us to run it more in the window we want to. Now we’re able to extract a lot of performance out of it. It’s cool to see how close everything is in the midfield and it’s crazy how you need to be on it with every lap. Coming from F2 to F1, I was really excited and looking forward to having time to build up through FP1, 2 and 3. But then you realise all of those laps count towards your qualifying lap, so every lap you need to be absolutely on it. But it’s really nice to be in such a tight battle. You need to be on top of your game, and that’s what we’re here for.”

Isack Hadjar – 14th, 5 points

Other than perhaps Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar arrived in F1 with the least amount of hype surrounding him, but if he felt like a back-up option before the start, he is looking like a potential – dare we say it – Red Bull driver of the future. Hadjar’s dramatic formation lap exit in Australia made headlines, but undeterred the Frenchman ploughed on, was denied a chance of points by strategy decisions in China and then got his just rewards with eighth in Japan.

Following the much-discussed driver swap between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, Hadjar’s position at Racing Bulls changed overnight. With the benefit of being with the team throughout pre-season, the 20-year-old has been its lead driver thus far, although Lawson is starting to get on par. But the New Zealander faces quite the benchmark in Hadjar, and that is thanks to the 2024 F2 runner-up’s rapid adaptation to life as an F1 driver.

What Hadjar is saying

“I just love it so much and I’m just committed to it and that’s why a tough hit like Melbourne is not enough to bring me down because I love driving and giving my best. It was not my goal [to prove people wrong] but I hope it’s visible here. The first two races were really just to learn, get the rhythm and then we had a triple-header so I didn’t have much time to analyse, but now we have a bit of a break and we make the most of it to understand our weakness.”

Jack Doohan – 19th, 0 points

There was more pressure on Doohan’s full-time F1 debut than necessary due to the team’s late signing of Franco Colapinto as a reserve, with team principal Oliver Oakes admitting the team played a role in creating all the noise around the Australian. In the face of all that scrutiny, Doohan has handled himself admirably.

On-track it has been a mixed bag for Doohan, with a spate of crashes and incidents, some of which could and should have been avoided. But Doohan has also shown solid raw pace alongside the much more experienced Pierre Gasly, a crucial foundation that is underpinning his seat and is the reason why talks over a potential replacement have subsided in recent weeks.

For now it looks like Doohan will survive for Miami and beyond, but the pressure to put results on the table is still there, especially now Gasly has unearthed the 2025 car’s potential on tracks that suit it.

What Doohan is saying

“It’s been good that we’ve shown some good moments over the past few rounds and that the raw pace is there, and there’s a lot of strong things to take forward. Now it’s just about putting all those things together and I’m sure we’ll be able to achieve great things. All I can focus on is what me and the team are here to set out to do and that’s for me to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Jack Doohan, Alpine, Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Gabriel Bortoleto, 20th, 0 points

Out of the entire rookie class, F3 and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto has been dealt by far the roughest hand, driving the slowest car on the grid at Sauber. With a best finish of 14th in China, and a second best of 18th, the results have been nothing to write home about. But looking beyond those and you’ll see that feisty Bortoleto has been doing as well as can be expected in a difficult to drive car, with a 4-2 qualifying record against the highly-rated qualifier Nico Hulkenberg.

Bortoleto has admitted he has found going from the front of the feeder series to dead last in F1 hard to take, but nevertheless Sauber has been impressed with his attitude and work ethic. Jeddah was another weekend on the back foot when a fuel leak kept him out of FP2, but the young Brazilian is rolling with the punches to develop himself as an all-round F1 driver. He just doesn’t have the car befitting of his talents.

What Bortoleto is saying

“You never stop learning in Formula 1. I think I still need to get a bit more confident with the car but it’s not that I’m far away. It’s just that everyone sees the final result and it’s frustrating, but I have a very experienced team-mate and it’s not that he’s in the top 5, either. We’re very close to each other. I’m in a decent place, but there’s still a lot of margin to get better.”