Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy in action during the qualifying for the he Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Six rookies drove in Formula 1 (F1) in the 2025 season, and this glance back on the season takes a look at those drivers to see how they fared in their first full season. Only five are discussed, however, as Jack Doohan got the boot from Alpine after only six races.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Many put this youngster’s performance as top amongst the rookies because he accumulated the most points with 150. That put him only six points behind seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and he finished in seventh out of the 21 drivers who competed this season.

That is an impressive tally. If you compare Antonelli directly to the other rookies, he has one more point than the total of the other four combined. He scored points in 14 out of the 24 races in the season, or 58%, had an average starting position of 8.6 and an average finishing position of 8.3.

Though he didn’t get a pole position in a feature race, he snagged pole in the Miami sprint race. He also scored in 5 of the 6 sprint races. In feature races, he had quite a few DNF (did not finish) results, but also made it to the podium three times (twice legitimately and once as a gift when the two McLaren cars were disqualified).

Perhaps most impressively, he just turned 18 this season and literally had reporters taking his picture and asking him questions as he walked out of school after finishing his finals. The fact he managed to keep his wits about him throughout the season in a pressure cooker environment, and given that he was pushed through the feeder series lightning quick before his F1 debut, Antonelli impressed many.

I’m among those impressed, but with a caveat. Out of the five rookies, he easily had the best car to drive. His teammate was the only driver not in a McLaren or Red Bull to win any races this year and Mercedes secured second in the championship. This isn’t to discredit his achievements, but more to say he proved Toto Wolff, team manager of Mercedes, correct in promoting Antonelli so quickly.

Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

Starting with his season stats, Hadjar finished the season second among the rookies with 51 points. His performance was good enough to come in twelfth out of the 21 drivers this season. Proving himself a formidable qualifier, Hadjar had an average starting position of 9.7, the only rookie besides Antonelli who managed to average a top ten qualifying position.

However, Hadjar had an average finish of 10.8, and he was the only rookie to decrease in average from starting position to finishing position. I’m sure he would smash his steering wheel, his signature move when things weren’t going his way, if he were to read that.

The most impressive moment, for me, was Hadjar’s response to the way his season started. Crashing on the way to the grid on a rainy day in Australia, meaning he was unable to start his first race, was certainly not the way he wanted to kick off his season. He showed throughout the rest of the season that this was a fluke and he deserved to be in F1. His podium in the Netherlands cemented that for him.

I have a lot of respect for Hadjar’s driving talents, but his brash personality in F2 rubbed me wrong. Many said he was behaving himself more in F1, but he admitted he was just pushing the radio button less frequently, so the public didn’t know what he was saying. Passion will take someone far, but his tantrums are something that could easily dump him in hot water in his career. It will be interesting to see how he fares as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull in 2026.

Oliver Bearman (Haas)

Bearman racked up 41 points, putting him thirteenth out of the 21 drivers this season and had a pretty impressive overall season. Though the middle part was a bit rough for him, he managed to score in 9 races, had an average starting position of 13.7 and an average finishing position of 10.7. That three place better finishing position compared to qualifying was the best amongst the rookies.

In short, Bearman was excellent at passing cars on track and performing a good strategy helping him move his Haas forward. While he still finished outside the points in 15 races, he was almost always moving forward and getting close to the points.

It’s interesting as well to compare Bearman head-to-head with his race winning teammate Esteban Ocon (he didn’t win in 2025, but in 2021, for the record). Throughout the 2025 season, Bearman out qualified and outscored him and was the only rookie to “beat” his more seasoned teammate. Hopefully Bearman will have the chance to score even more next season and continue to impress with his speed.

Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

Racing for Red Bull as Verstappen’s teammate for the first three races, then being forced to switch seats with Yuki Tsunoda had to be a whirlwind for Lawson. Still, the switch was an overall boost for him as his qualifying and finishing both improved, and he managed to nab some points with Racing Bulls, something he could not achieve in his time partnering Verstappen.

His end total was 38 points, three behind Bearman, and tying him with Ocon for fourteenth out of 21 drivers. Given his average starting position of 12.3 and average finishing position of 11.0, things were pretty average for Lawson this season. He failed to impress as much as Hadjar did, his early season demotion was a bit unfair, but not really unwarranted, and there really isn’t much else to say about him.

Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)

Coming in as the F2 champion puts high expectations on a driver’s shoulders, and Bortoleto seemed to carry that weight throughout the season. He finished with just 19 points, the lowest for any driver besides Doohan and Franco Colapinto, neither of whom scored points for Alpine. That is hardly Bortoleto’s whole story though.

His average starting position was 14.2 and his average finish was 13.5, so at least he was moving forward all the time. One of the main things that hurt his overall finish was how many times he wrecked out of a race. While those wrecks are a good indicator he was frequently misjudging passes, at least he was trying to get to the points and prove he belongs in F1.

Overall, I think there were more moments where Bortoleto surprised me with his accomplishments than any other rookie driver this past season. As the team changes from the Sauber name to Audi in 2026, I’m unsure what their future holds. Bortoleto, however, has shown he’ll be a star in the sport and, given the right car, his championship will be a question of when and not if.

Wrap Up

It’s easy to look over these drivers and point out the stats say Antonelli did the best. If any of the other four drivers were in that Mercedes seat, who knows how they would’ve done? This has been a most impressive group of rookies in 2025, and they’ll all be driving again next season.

Only one rookie, Arvid Lindblad, is scheduled to be in F1 next season, taking Hadjar’s seat at Racing Bulls. I’ve been impressed with him and am eager to see what he can do in F1, but the sophomore seasons for these five should be pretty intriguing to watch as well.