£15k-a-week F1 rookie just achieved ‘monstrous’ feat in private test to delight his engineers

F1’s new faces made their first appearances at the season launch event at the O2 Arena on Tuesday. For some, it was perhaps a first glimpse of the sport’s scale.

Depending on your definition, there are between three and six rookies on the 2025 grid. Liam Lawson (11), Oliver Bearman (three) and Jack Doohan (one) have all made their debuts already, but none of them have started a season.

Bearman isn’t classified as a rookie by the FIA, which he feels is harsh. The threshold is three starts, a tally he reached in Brazil when he replaced the unwell Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

After his standout cameos, Bearman already looks like a fan favourite. He received ‘really big cheers’ from his home crowd in London.

Elsewhere, Lawson escaped the hostility directed at Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen and, above all, Christian Horner. Kimi Antonelli faced the latest round of questions about replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, noise that won’t die down until he starts delivering on track.

And then there are those who slipped beneath the radar. Gabriel Bortoleto was first on stage for last year’s 10th-place team Sauber, while Isack Hadjar – who finished runner-up to the Brazilian in F2 – has stayed out of the spotlight too.

Isack Hadjar dazzles in Racing Bulls shakedown before Bahrain test

Just like Ferrari, Racing Bulls held a shakedown for their new car the day after F1 75 live. But while thousands of fans attended Fiorano for the SF-25 launch, their fellow Italians enjoyed relative privacy at Imola.

Yuki Tsunoda was the first out on track as he split the 200km ‘filming day’ allocation with Hadjar. They were joined by Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad, who’s trying to build up the superlicence points required to fill in as a reserve driver if necessary.

According to Motorsport Italy, Hadjar completed a similar programme to Tsunoda and delighted his engineers with a ‘good attitude’. There had been some concerns about his demeanour.

For instance, Hadjar has been labelled ‘an angry young man’ after a string of explosive radio messages in the junior categories. But he’s aware that Red Bull don’t like the ‘radio button’ after seeing the occasionally ill-tempered Tsunoda lose out on a promotion.

More importantly, Hadjar showed ‘monstrous’ – and consistent – pace towards the end of a long run. New drivers may have the raw speed to shine over one lap, but it often takes time to match their more experienced competitors for race pace.

Isack Hadjar’s ‘extreme’ data has already raised eyebrows at Racing Bulls

There have been some murmurs this winter that Hadjar may lose his seat this season. Red Bull’s excitement about Lindblad is seen as ominous for the Frenchman.

But there are initial signs in testing that Hadjar could enjoy a strong rookie campaign. Like all Racing Bulls drivers, he will either be touted as a future Red Bull driver or face a swift axe, such is the ruthless nature of Helmut Marko’s operation.

Hadjar already showed ‘extreme’ consistency in a TPC outing, so it seems to be an early theme. Even Tsunoda, who had a fairly low-key rookie season himself, might be surprised by how quickly he’s adapted.