Andrea Kimi Antonelli once hid in a pile of tires to cross security and enter the Formula Paddock 1. Now the 18 -year -old Italian is Lewis Hamilton’s successor in Mercedes.
Antonelli is among the greatest intake of the new F1 drivers in years, since the best teams trust young people. Six of the 20 drivers in the 2025 grid begin their first complete seasons in F1. Some could compete for victories. Others already run the risk of losing a F1 seat strongly.
An unexpectedly talented field of Formula 2 last season occurred at a time when some F1 teams were eager to move from older drivers such as Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. The change in 2025 gives the teams the opportunity to allow young people to win experience before the F1 car design rules change radically by 2026.
Here is a look at the rookie class:
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Entering the shoes of a seven -time champion in Mercedes focuses on Antonelli, who will become the third F1 most fair pilot ever. The Italian wants to be known as “the next Mercedes driver” due to Hamilton’s legacy. The first time Antonelli visited an F1 paddock was eight years old in 2014 when his father Marco, who directed a support series team, hid it in a pile of tires under an umbrella to overcome the security and the German Grand Prix. “That was a really great experience,” he said last month. Antonelli had a star record in the Junior series and was sixth in F2 last year, but a strong accident in Mercedes in Monza in August was a difficult introduction to F1.
Liam Lawson
The Red Bull driver is the strange man in this list because he has participated in 11 F1 races since 2023, although never a full season. He says he will feel “more like a rookie” at the beginning of the season on tracks that has not run before. Associating four times to the Max Verstappen champion as Pérez’s replace Six races.
Oliver Bearman
Less than a year ago since Bearman broke into the scene in F1 with a seventh combative place for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, while Carlos Sainz Jr. was marginalized due to surgery. He had never run in Jeddah before and was running with two days of warning. Bearman beat his experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg in two races for Haas later that year and is now a full -time Haas driver for 2025. Bearman is still part of Ferrari’s Junior program, but displacing the Ferrari pilots regular Ferrari Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc is unlikely that it is soon soon.
Jack Doohan
The son of the legendary world motorcycle champion Mick Doohan enters 2025 with his F1 career under threat as soon as he has begun. Alpine’s decision to sign the former Williams Franco Colapinto driver, since the reservation means that an aspiring replacement is available if Doohan does not impress team management. “You will always have pressure on your shoulders because you are in such a cut sport,” Doohan said. The Australian pilot took third place in F2 in 2023, but did not run at all last year until a surprise entrance for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that ended the season. Finishing 15º, it was far from the rhythm of teammate Pierre Gasly in seventh.
Isack hadjar
Lawson’s promotion Bull left an inauguration in his second team, now renowned Racing Bulls, for the F2 Hadjar runner -up. The French pilot arrives at a team with a history of changing the pilots in the middle of the season if they do not work. Even the eight -time winner of the Daniel Ricciardo Grand Prize did not last a full year there in 2024.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Despite winning the Title of F2 last season, defeating Hadjar, Antonelli and Bearman, the arrival of Bortoleto to F1 has been eclipsed by his former rivals. That is partly due to the fact that his new Sauber team had problems last year and is marking time before a complete change such as the Audi Works team in 2026. With a helmet design that pays tribute to the three -time Ayrton Senna champion, Bortoleto is the first F1 full -time Brazilian driver since 2017.
