The 2025 Formula 1 grid will feature at least four rookies for the first time since 2017. Liam Lawson is set to take part in his first full season, so he arguably deserves that status too.
Most of the focus will be on Kimi Antonelli, who replaces seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Toto Wolff is already trying to reduce the pressure on Antonelli, who becomes the third-youngest driver in F1 history.
His PREMA teammate Oliver Bearman will have a longer route to the front of the grid as he starts at Haas. Bearman has already taken part in three races, one for Ferrari and two for Haas in place of Kevin Magnussen.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | 214.5 |
| 2 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | 192 |
| 3 | Paul Aron | Hitech | 163 |
| 4 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 140 |
| 5 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 125 |
| 6 | Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | 113 |
| 7 | Victor Martins | ART | 107 |
| 8 | Richard Verschoor | MP Motorsport | 106 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 96 |
| 10 | Joshua Durksen | PHM | 87 |
| 11 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 85.5 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 75 |
Both drivers lost out to Gabriel Bortoleto in Formula 2 this year. Bortoleto sealed the title at the final round in Abu Dhabi, though he faces the toughest task of all as he joins a Sauber team that only scored four points last season.
Jack Doohan spent almost the entire year on the sidelines as Alpine’s dedicated reserve driver. The team rewarded his commitment with an early debut at the Abu Dhabi GP, with Esteban Ocon making an early exit, and that should be valuable preparation for his first full campaign alongside Pierre Gasly.
It’s possible that one more new face could yet join the grid. If, as expected, Sergio Perez loses his Red Bull seat, either Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda will move up, leaving a vacancy at RB.
RB hopeful Isack Hadjar is an even bigger ‘wildcard’ than Yuki Tsunoda on the radio
Isack Hadjar is the favourite to race for RB if Red Bull reshuffle their line-ups. Hadjar is the next one off the production line after finishing runner-up behind Bortoleto in this year’s F2 standings.
In what is his second year in the series, he improved from 14th to second, notching four wins and eight podiums. Hadjar has heavily hinted he’ll join RB, but his stay could be short unless he dispels some of the team’s doubts.
Red Bull are unsure about Hadjar but want to give him a chance to prove himself in F1. One area of concern could be his temperament.
According to Jake Boxall-Legge, who appeared on the James Allen on F1 podcast, Hadjar typically sounds ‘very angry’ over the team radio. He compared him unfavourably to potential teammate Tsunoda.
“[I’m] less impressed by Isack Hadjar,” he said. “If people think that Yuki Tsunoda is a bit of a wildcard on the radio, Hadjar is going to blow your mind. He’s very angry. He’s an angry young man.”
Isack Hadjar’s ‘what a joke’ radio message to Formula 2 engineer
Tsunoda likened himself to a ‘Monsters Inc’ character given his tendency to shout over the radio. He identified it as an area he needed to work on at the start of 2024.
The F1 paddock sees Hadjar as ‘Tsunoda 2.0’ in the sense that he has limited long-term prospects. If RB engineers have worked to calm the Japanese driver down, they may have to repeat the process next year.
One radio message at the Monaco GP this year illustrates Boxall-Legge’s point. Hadjar lost out on victory in the Feature Race because of a late virtual safety car.
“Don’t talk to me,” he said. “I don’t want to talk. It’s a joke.”
When his engineer urged him to address the issue in private, he replied: “No man! You can’t say that! I’m P2. Can you believe what just happened? It’s a joke. Man, come on.”
