Meet the rookies: Who are the six new stars on F1’s 2025 grid?

Formula 1’s new-look grid for 2025 features six rookies, adding yet another exciting element to what promises to be an enthralling season.

As if Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari in what could be a wide-open title battle somehow wasn’t enough, six young stars are bringing another layer of intrigue.

With two of them getting the rare opportunity to go into potential race-winning cars, those plots could yet even remarkably intertwine.

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As the 2025 car launches and pre-season testing rapidly approach, we introduce you to F1’s new generation of drivers.

Oliver Bearman – Haas

Age: 19 (08/05/2005)

Nation: Great Britain

Car number: 87

Path to F1: Britain’s Ollie Bearman burst onto the radar of Formula 1 fans in March 2024 as he received the extremely rare opportunity of making his Formula 1 debut in a front-running car.

With Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz suddenly sidelined by appendicitis in Saudi Arabia, the then 18-year-old Bearman took full advantage as he impressed by taking seventh at the challenging, high-speed circuit.

While he may have felt like a lottery winner as he became the youngest ever driver to race for Ferrari in F1, being in a position to seize the opportunity was a result of years of hard work.

The Essex-born teenager was signed to the Ferrari Driver Academy at the age of 16 in 2021 after claiming titles in both the Italian and German Formula 4.

With Ferrari’s backing, Bearman advanced to Formula 3 in 2022, where he would score one race victory on his way to finishing third in the championship.

He would continue with Prema in Formula 2 the following year, claiming four wins on his way to sixth in the championship, while also catching the eye during F1 practice session appearances for Haas in Abu Dhabi and Mexico.

He remained in F2 for the 2024 season, but would have his big F1 breakthrough in Saudi Arabia, before Haas, who are closely linked with Ferrari, announced his signing for 2025 in July.

Bearman would further underline his potential by taking a point on his Haas race debut as he deputised for the suspended Kevin Magnussen in Azerbaijan.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson: “Ollie Bearman, the super-sub, gets his chance to embark on a full season with Haas this year after superbly filling in for the injured Sainz in Jeddah, scoring points on his debut, and then we saw him on the grid again, replacing Magnussen at Haas for two more races.

“He’ll be relishing the chance to start a more structured season with some winter testing miles in the car that he’ll be racing, and approaching race weekends with a clearer plan.

“He has a tough competitor alongside him though in Esteban Ocon, and thus gives us a good benchmark of his performances this year, which I’m sure Ferrari will be keeping a close eye on too as he remains part of their young driver programme.”

What else? The Brit’s favourite F1 driver growing up was Sebastian Vettel. Bearman revealed the four-time world champion sent him a good-luck message ahead of his debut in Saudi Arabia.

Bearman’s appearances in F1 races have been accompanied by regular entertaining cutaways to his father, David, in the garage.

He said last year: “I receive a lot of support from my dad, he’s shadowing me all the way. When they show him on TV it looks to me like he’s actually driving the track with me. He comes to all my races, and he’s only missed maybe 10 in my career, I can probably count on my hands how many he’s missed.”

Liam Lawson – Red Bull

Age: 23 (11/02/2002)

Nation: New Zealand

Car number: 30

Path to F1: Having waited and waited, Liam Lawson finally has a (permanent) chance in a Formula 1 seat. His journey to becoming world champion Max Verstappen’s team-mate was a little different to many of his European contemporaries, largely due to the fact he is from New Zealand.

The Kiwi managed to stand out on the domestic scene, particularly when winning the Toyota Racing Series in 2019, which would lead to him being signed onto the Red Bull Junior Programme later that year.

Being signed to the fiercely competitive Red Bull system is far from a guarantee of a future seat in F1, and Lawson had to bide his time as he spent two seasons in Formula 3 and a further two campaigns in Formula 2 from 2020-2023.

The F1 carrot was dangled as he drove in his first three F1 practice sessions in 2022, but he was overlooked for a 2023 F1 seat as Red Bull’s sister squad (then-named AlphaTauri) went for Nyck de Vries, and then replaced the struggling Dutchman with Daniel Ricciardo midway through the year.

However, an injury sustained by Ricciardo in a crash at the Dutch GP would give his full F1 debut and a five-race run, of which the highlight was a ninth-placed finish in Singapore.

He would have to wait until the final six races of 2024 for his next chance as Ricciardo was let go, and once more impressed with points finishes in the USA and Brazil.

While it was all-but confirmed Lawson would have a full-time seat in 2025, few suspected that would be alongside Verstappen, but he was chosen ahead of RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda for the huge opportunity after Sergio Perez was let go by Red Bull.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson: “With only 11 Grands Prix under his belt, Liam Lawson steps into the hot seat alongside one of the best F1 drivers the world has ever seen, Max Verstappen, without question making it a career-defining moment.

“His brief is simple: bring home championship points on a regular basis in order to help Red Bull fight for the Constructors’ Championship. There’ll be no hiding, and the pressure will be immense for him, but so far he’s clearly impressed the right people, whose opinions matter.

“It will be one of the highlights for me, seeing how he gets on this year at the sharp end of the grid.”

What else? In his F1 career to date, Lawson has shown himself to be an incredibly fierce competitor.

During his second stint with RB, in 2024, Lawson got into battles with the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez, which would both spill off track.

While the sport’s veterans seemed to be rubbed up the wrong way by Lawson’s fearless and uncompromising nature, some suspect that show of grit may have been a crucial factor in Red Bull boss Christian Horner inserting the Kiwi into the top job.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

Age: 18 (25/08/2006)

Nation: Italy

Car number: 12

Path to F1: Having dominated various karting championships, Antonelli was scouted by Mercedes at the age of just 13 and signed to their junior programme in 2019.

He made the switch from karts to cars at 15 years old and quickly began to attract more attention as he dominated the Italian and German F4 categories in 2022

Antonelli continued to impress as he won the Formula Regional Middle East and European championships, leading Mercedes to fast-track him straight into Formula 2, rather than Formula 3.

The pressure ramped up as Lewis Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari opened up a 2025 Mercedes seat, and it initially appeared to be too much as Antonelli made a slow start to his F2 campaign.

However, just as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was coming under pressure himself to make a decision during the summer, Antonelli produced a couple of timely victories at Silverstone and then in Budapest that may have sealed the seat for him.

Antonelli’s first F1 practice session, with all eyes on him at Monza in September, did not to go to plan as he shunted George Russell’s Mercedes into a barrier after just 10 minutes, but even in that short time he showed impressive speed.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok: “I think Antonelli comes into the season as the rookie with the most eyes on him. He’s in a top seat, he’s taken over a seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes have chosen to not have Carlos Sainz and promote him up after one season of F2, so it’s a big, big task for him.

“He’s very, very talented, there’s no doubt about it, in terms of pure natural talent. I’ve seen him in junior categories, I’ve spoken to people who worked with him, and they all rate him very highly.

“Being in an F1 environment with the pressure of being in a top team is something different to being in the lower categories when you can kind of go under the radar. Now he’s going to have people like me in the commentary box analysing every lap he does, and suddenly the pressure to deliver is much higher.

“I think he’s going to be very, very quick in qualifying, but as Oscar Piastri has shown us recently, the bigger challenge these days for rookies is perhaps in the races with the long runs. Mercedes have done a great deal of work to prepare him, he’s going to be the best-prepared rookie coming into F1 for a very long time, so he’s got a great opportunity to shine.”

What else? The big news of Antonelli’s off-season was that he passed his driving test.

Yes, he was potentially going to be competing in Formula 1 without actually being able to drive a regular road car.

Having only turned 18 in August last year, Antonelli got the job done in reasonably quick time, but did admit he found the theory element of the Italian test challenging.

Good luck with the F1 rulebook, Kimi!

Jack Doohan – Alpine

Age: 22 (20/01/2003)

Nation: Australia

Car number: 7

Path to F1: Born into motorsport royalty as the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, Jack won the Australian Karting Championship in 2015 and 2016 before being signed as a Red Bull junior in 2017.

He worked his way up the motorsport ladder through various F4 categories before making it to Formula 3 in 2020. He struggled badly in his first campaign but would make major improvements the following year as he finished second in the championship.

Before stepping up to Formula 2 in 2022, Doohan made what was viewed as a surprising decision to leave Red Bull to join the Alpine Academy, with the opportunity to feature in F1 practice sessions, which he would do from 2022-2024, a key motivator.

He made a scrappy start in F2 but would demonstrate his talent with a superb victory at Spa on his way to finishing sixth in the overall standings. Doohan would improve again in 2023 to claim three feature race wins on his way to finishing third in F2 the following year, but his lack of a title after moving up from karting left doubt as to whether he had done enough to earn an opportunity in F1.

Having had his 2025 seat confirmed in August, the Australian finally made his F1 debut in the last round of the 2024 season as Alpine shuffled Esteban Ocon out the door a race early to get Doohan some experience.

However, excitement around his big chance has been somewhat tainted by Alpine’s January signing of Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver, with many suspicious Doohan could already be on borrowed time before his debut season has even begun.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson: “Jack Doohan had been patiently waiting for a race seat at Alpine since his F2 days and finally got that chance to line up on the grid at the final race in Abu Dhabi last year in preparation for this season.

“But not long after he had signed, Colapinto arrives on the scene, putting immediate pressure on his shoulders even before we get to the first race.

“It’s obviously not an ideal situation to be in. There will certainly be no time to ease himself in as Doohan will be looking to cement his position in the team and make himself irreplaceable.”

What else? Doohan was gifted his first kart by none other than seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, who became a close friend of Mick Doohan with the pair both living in Monaco during their professional careers.

The younger Doohan two years ago posted an adorable photo of Schumacher holding him as a child, wishing his “biggest inspiration and idol” a happy birthday.

Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber

Age: 20 (14/10/2004)

Nation: Brazil

Car number: 5

Path to F1: Having started karting at the age of six, Bortoleto showed such talent that his family were compelled to move to Europe by the time he was 12 to enable him to pursue his racing dream.

After karting success in 2018 and 2019, he made the jump to racing cars in 2020, where he finished fifth in Italian F4, before moving up to Formula Regional where his performances were once more solid but not spectacular.

It was in 2023 when Bortoleto established himself as one to watch by becoming F3 champion in his rookie campaign. His ability to quickly adapt to different single-seater cars and get stronger in faster machinery, which bodes well for F1, was noticed by McLaren who subsequently signed him up to their Driver Development Programme.

Bortoleto graduated to F2 and immediately flashed his talent by taking pole at the season opener, but a mixture of crashes and technical issues would disrupt his early progress as at one point he retired from three consecutive races.

Aside from a pole position and maiden podium at Imola, inconsistency would continue to blight Bortoleto until his season clicked into place with a maiden victory in Austria.

That victory marked the start of a run of five podiums across the final eight feature races, including another win at Monza, that would see him become just the sixth driver to win the F2 title in his rookie campaign, joining the likes of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

Even before his F2 title was sealed, Sauber, soon to be Audi, saw enough in the Brazilian to sign him up to drive alongside Nico Hulkenberg in 2025. He is the only member of the new rookie group yet to have driven in an official F1 session.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok: “There are some very high hopes for Bortoleto. People who worked with him in F2 have told me he was extremely mature and calm, didn’t flap, didn’t stress and they really thought he was the complete package in terms of his feedback, technical ability and most importantly, his outright speed.

“They really spoke highly about his ability to think through a race, remain calm and execute a strategy.

“Going into Sauber is a good opportunity to learn from Nico Hulkenberg. I think that will be really helpful. Sauber are in a bit of a limbo until they turn into Audi but he’s got a great chance to show that he should be the works Audi driver when they enter F1 in 2026.”

What else? The eagle-eyed didn’t need to see Bortoleto’s F3 triumph to know he was a special talent.

A year before that, in 2022, Bortoleto was snapped up by Fernando Alonso’s driver management company, A14.

The 20-year-old was not even born when Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 but will now be racing against the two-time world champion, who has been keeping a close eye on him.

“He’s an incredible talent and a very humble person as well,” Alonso said of his protégé last year.

Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls

Age: 20 (28/09/2004)

Nation: France

Car number: 6

Path to F1: The final driver to have his place confirmed on F1’s 2025 grid, Hadjar perhaps arrives at motorsport’s top table as the rookie that least is expected of, at least in the short term.

The tenacious 20-year-old has fought hard for his seat, starting out in karting before progressing to the French F4 Championship.

While there weren’t any titles, his progression would lead to a 2021 drive in the Formula Regional European Championship. He saved his best for the grandest of occasions as he drove superbly to dominate and win in Monaco, catching the eye of Helmut Marko, who would immediately sign him to Red Bull’s junior programme.

He moved onto F3 in 2022 and would deliver an impressive campaign as he flirted with championship contention before eventually finishing the season in fourth.

Despite flashes of speed, his debut F2 campaign in 2023 was something of a struggle as he only finished 14th, but Red Bull, unperturbed, gave him two F1 practice session outings towards the end of the season.

Their faith would be rewarded – to some degree – in 2024 as Hadjar won four feature races to establish a 36-point lead at the top of the standings going into the summer break.

However, his title quest would crumble with two pointless weekends and a disappointing finale in Abu Dhabi that saw him lose out to Bortoleto by 22.5 points.

It could be argued that his insertion to an RB seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda was more a reflection of a lack of options for Red Bull rather than Hadjar having grasped the opportunity, but he now has the chance to prove his doubters wrong.

Expert opinion – Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok: “He’s an interesting one, obviously quite a fiery character. We all heard some pretty explosive rants on the radio last year in F2. He’s ended up in this situation quite late in the day because of the Lawson-Perez switch, but he’s got to make use of it.

“He’s clearly fast but there are lots of fast drivers. I think the difference is the mental strength, coping with the pressure of F1 and the attention you get. Plus, he’s got to be able to take on Yuki Tsunoda, who’s well entrenched with that team.

“Given it could be Tsunoda’s last season with the team as their Honda deal ends, there’s a lot at stake for Hadjar because a good season could set him up for the next few years. He’s got to have a calming structure around him to help him execute the race weekends well.”

What else? The diminutive Hadjar struggled early in his career with not being able to properly reach the pedals in certain categories.

His size, talent and feisty nature led Marko to give him the rather complimentary nickname ‘Petit Prost’ – a reference to four-time world champion Alain Prost.

With France not having had an F1 champion since Prost’s final triumph in 1993, Hadjar would undoubtedly exceed expectations if he were to end that wait.

Whatever his results, Hadjar is likely to provide some radio gold for F1 watchers this season, with his passion showing through in both the good moments and bad.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime