‘Wild’ rookie will already be ‘worried’ about his F1 future like Jack Doohan after testing problems

Jack Doohan is heading home to the 2025 Australian Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver with Alpine, and he is not the only rookie dealing with uncertainty about their future.

The 22-year-old is starting his first, full season in the pinnacle of motorsport with a target on his back. Doohan already made his F1 debut with Alpine during the 2024 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and has since seen them sign a potential replacement in Franco Colapinto.

Alpine paid Williams £8.5m for Colapinto to join the Enstone crew as a reserve driver. He will be on hand should Doohan or Pierre Gasly have to miss a race, and expectations are rife that Flavio Briatore will replace Doohan with Colapinto in their A525 – it is only a matter of when.

But Doohan is not the only rookie on the 2025 Formula 1 grid who will head to the season-opening Australian GP slightly worried about their future. F1 has four rookies this year plus two more new full-time drivers with Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman not officially rookies.

Gabriel Bortoleto will be ‘worried’ about his future at Audi after a tough pre-season with Sauber

Edd Straw believes Gabriel Bortoleto will also feel somewhat ‘worried’ about his future after the 2024 Formula 2 champion endured a challenging pre-season at F1 testing for Sauber. He has stepped up to Formula 1 this year after Audi gave Bortoleto a two-year factory contract.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know

Audi will take Sauber over in 2026, so signed Bortoleto plus Nico Hulkenberg to help mould their team after deciding against retaining either of Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu. But the Brazilian struggled with a difficult car in pre-season testing at the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit.

Sauber failed to meet their expectations for F1 testing with the C45 only appearing to be the ninth-fastest car in qualifying and race simulations. So, Straw feels Audi needs to put an arm around Bortoleto and assure the 2023 F3 champion that they know Sauber’s car is the issue.

Straw said on The Race F1 Podcast: “The Sauber doesn’t look great. Very stiff, tricky to drive. Bortoleto was probably the most wild driver out there, but I think that was more the car and the rookie driver pushing it to its limits to try to explore it.

“So, I think it’s going to be tough for Bortoleto. But he shouldn’t be worried if that team just backs him and says to him, ‘Look, we know it’s a bit tricky, you’re up against an experienced teammate [but] you’re going to be in the car next year whatever happens’.

“Give him that confidence and he’ll come through it because he’s a quality driver and he’s intelligent enough to make that work. But it’s never nice to come in as a rookie in a tricky car. That’s never ideal, but you can show well in it.

“So, I just hope that somebody at Audi doesn’t just decide to try and blame a driver if they have a few races and Bortoleto is struggling a little bit in a difficult car. It’s very, very clear the car is the problem here.”

Audi will be ‘concerned’ if Nico Hulkenberg smashes Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber

Scott Mitchell-Malm also fears slightly for Bortoleto ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season as Audi might look to make the Sao Paulo native a ‘scapegoat’ if Hulkenberg is clearly ahead at Sauber this term. Regardless of the C45’s strengths, the German offers a direct comparison.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height

Hulkenberg is one of the best midfield drivers in F1 and also one of the most experienced in 2025 with 230 Grand Prix entries plus 227 starts – the 16th-most in history. So, if Sauber are miles off the pace, Audi might try to divert attention by saying Bortoleto is the real problem.

Mitchell-Malm said: “That’s the bit I was concerned about, it’s the politics of it. If it’s worse than expected and you’ve got a particularly political situation with the team ownership, it’s an easy scapegoat to blame the inexperienced driver.

“As long as they’re comparing well to their teammate – and he’s got a really good reference in Hulkenberg – he should be OK. If he’s getting smashed by Hulkenberg, then that will be a concern.”