Formula One is a very cutthroat sport, drivers are often fired mid-season if they don’t achieve success quickly. New drivers have to perform immediately if they want any guarantee of a future at the top of open-wheel motorsport. This is the challenge that rookie drivers face as they take the step up to Formula One and look to achieve their lifelong dream.
In 2025, six drivers will begin their first full season in F1 with some already facing uncertainty over their future in the sport. The five rookie drivers and Liam Lawson will look to impress from the outset in what could be the most competitive F1 season in recent memory.
Who Are The 2025 F1 Rookies?
Five rookies will officially join the F1 grid in 2025, with four making the step directly from Formula Two, including the championship winner and runner-up. F2 has been a clear pathway to F1 since its rebrand from GP2, with several drivers at the top of the sport (Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lando Norris) having competed in it.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Gabriel Bortoleto, F2 champion and former Mclaren academy driver, joins Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in an all-new driver lineup for the 2025 season. The Brazilian becomes the first driver from the South American nation since Felipe Massa departed the sport in 2017.
In 2020, Bortoleto left home to compete in the Italian F4 Championship and finished 5th in his debut season. Covid struck and racing stopped for months but in 2021 and 2022, Bortoleto competed in the Formula Regional European Championship to improve further. The Brazilian impressed yet again, finishing 6th in 2022.
His success in younger categories gave him the perfect platform to succeed when he joined the Formula Three grid in 2023. The Sauber driver raced for Trident in his debut season and dominated the field in his Championship victory. Bortoleto appeared on the podium six times, including two race wins, meaning he finished 45 points clear of his nearest rival.
In 2024, Bortoleto was promoted to Formula Two after just one season in Formula Three, this time driving for Invicta Virtuosi Racing. His domination from F3 continued into F2 and he again won the Championship in his debut season. The Brazilian also broke history at Monza, becoming the first driver in F1 or F2 to win from last on the grid at the historic track.
Isack Hadjar
Isack Hadjar was the runner-up in the 2024 Formula Two Championship, finishing just over 20 points behind Gabriel Bortoleto. The French-Algerian driver will race for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team in 2025, joining the junior Red Bull team alongside Yuki Tsunoda. He replaces Liam Lawson who has made the step up to the senior team to partner the reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen.
Hadjar began single-seater racing in 2019 in the French F4 Championship, scoring several podium finishes and impressing with his racecraft. He continued in this championship in 2020 before competing in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2021. As this was his debut year, Hadjar was eligible for the Rookie Championship title. He finished 5th overall and secured the Rookie title in another impressive campaign.
The young driver competed in the FIA Formula Three Championship in 2022, achieving 4th place in the championship in his one and only year in the competition. Notably, he also signed his Red Bull Academy contract, giving him a clear pathway into F1.
As a contracted Red Bull driver, Hadjar competed in FIA Formula Two with Hitech in 2023 and finished 14th in his debut season. Despite the low finish in the championship, Isack Hadjar still showed his potential with a sprint race victory in Zandvoort. For the following season, he joined Campos Racing and challenged Bortoleto throughout the season in a very competitive year.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a name that many people inside Formula One have been excited about for a very long time, the potential is clear for all to see. Mercedes and Toto Wolff signed Antonelli to the Mercedes driver programme before the Italian had transitioned to single-seater racing.
In 2021, two years after he signed for the F1 academy, Antonelli joined the Italian F4 Championship and impressed immediately. Kimi Antonelli won the F4 Championship in his first full season (2022) as well as winning the ADAC F4 Championship and the Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup in the same year. In 2023, the Mercedes driver won the Formula Regional European and Formula Regional Middle East Championship before bypassing Formula Three and signing for Prema for the 2024 season.
Antonelli won two races in his debut season in F2, the team struggled and didn’t reach their usual high standards but both drivers impressed when given the opportunity. His performances earned him a full-time race seat at Mercedes, replacing seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Oliver Bearman
One of the more well-known drivers on this list, Bearman will join Haas F1 team as a representative of the Ferrari driver academy. The 2005-born racing driver has already appeared in Formula One for Ferrari and Haas, making his debut in Saudi Arabia as a replacement for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard was unavailable due to injury and Bearman impressed with a 7th place finish, also becoming the youngest driver to ever drive for Ferrari at 19 years old.
Oliver Bearman joined the Ferrari driver academy in 2022 when he joined Formula Three. This came after a very successful Formula Four campaign: the Haas driver became the first driver to win the Italian and German F4 championships in the same year. Prema recognised Bearman’s talent and he drove for the team in F3 and F2. In his rookie F3 season, Oliver Bearman finished 3rd in the overall Championship standings and in F2 he has secured multiple race wins.
Next year the British driver will partner Esteban Ocon in an all-new driver lineup for Haas F1 team, replacing Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg. Bearman is very well though of at Ferrari and a promising stint at Haas could see him promoted to Ferrari in the coming years, potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton if the seven-time champion retires.
Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan is another driver who has already raced in Formula One, however under very different circumstances to Bearman. Doohan made his debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when he replaced Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman wanted to complete the post-season testing with Haas and Alpine chose to dismiss him one race early.
The Australian motorsport driver transitioned to single-seater racing in 2018 when he competed in British Formula Four for Arden. Out of all the rookies that took part in the Championship, Doohan finished the highest with an impressive 5th place finish in the final championships. An experienced driver despite his age, Jack Doohan has also competed in Italian F4, Adac F4, Asian F3, FIA F3 and F2 in his pursuit to join the F1 grid.
Despite his promising youth career, Doohan already faces uncertainty over his future in F1. Alpine have three official reserve drivers for the 2025 season: Ryo Hirakawa, Paul Aron and Franco Colapinto. As per several reports, Colapinto has signed a five-year deal with the French team after his impressive half-season at Williams.
Many F1 fans were devastated when it was confirmed that the Argentinian wouldn’t be on the grid in 2025, but there remains a strong possibility he could join it sooner rather than later. Planet F1 have reported that several sources have confirmed Doohan has only signed a five-race contract for the 2025 season. He will be evaluated in his opening races and poor performances will likely see him replaced by Colapinto.