Lando Norris was the fourth-youngest driver on the Formula 1 grid at the start of the 2024 season. Only Logan Sargeant, Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri were born later.
But since then, there has been an influx of young talent. An 18-year-old Oliver Bearman made his debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and will race full-time for Haas next year.
Franco Colapinto, even younger than Sargeant at 21, earned a promotion to a Williams race seat just after the summer break. Within days, Mercedes had confirmed that Kimi Antonelli, 18, would succeed Lewis Hamilton.
Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar have all secured spots on the grid since with Alpine, Sauber and Racing Bulls. And Liam Lawson will drive for Red Bull next year after impressing at the de facto junior squad in the final quarter of the campaign.
The result is that Norris is barely in the top half of the ‘youngest F1 drivers’ league table heading into 2025. Now 25, he comes in at ninth place.
| AGE GROUP | DRIVERS |
| 18-21 | Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan |
| 22-25 | Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris |
| 26-29 | Lance Stroll, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly |
| 30-33 | Carlos Sainz |
| 33-36 | None |
| 37-40 | Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton |
| 41+ | Fernando Alonso |
The British driver has also done some growing up on the race track. He took his first four race wins in 2024, doubled his podium tally to 26 and added eight pole positions, finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen in his first world championship challenge.
Lando Norris told Franco Colapinto ‘you don’t go back’ to normality in Formula 1
Speaking on the Corazon de F1 YouTube channel, Mario Catarineu, Colapinto’s manager, revealed the valuable advice he’d received from Norris. They met for dinner during the Sao Paulo GP weekend.
That was an especially brutal one for the Williams driver. He crashed out of the rescheduled Sunday morning qualifying session in wet conditions, then suffered the same fate in the race.
Up to that point, his graduation to F1 had been a dream. He scored five points in five Grands Prix and immediately put pressure on experienced teammate Alex Albon.
Colapinto experienced an ‘absolutely astounding’ rise in his popularity, with an ‘ocean of fans’ surrounding him in the Interlagos paddock. Norris told him he’d never return to normality, but he’d ‘get used’ to the attention.
“I remember that we talked a lot about this topic,” Catarineu said. “One of the nights in Brazil, we were having dinner with Lando and he was just talking about how he had to adapt to Franco, how this adaptation is and how you don’t go back but you get used to the new situation.
“I think Franco is fine. He likes it and he is having a great time.”
What Alpine are planning to do with Franco Colapinto behind the scenes amid Jack Doohan pressure
As it stands, Colapinto won’t join Norris on the 2025 grid. However, his move to Alpine as reserve driver could open up opportunities in-season.
It will all depend on the performance of Jack Doohan. Doohan’s Alpine contract contains a performance clause, and if he meets it, it’s likely that he’ll stay put until at least the end of the year.
Alpine have planned a rigorous test programme for Colapinto, even though he can’t take part in FP1 sessions under the guise of a young driver. They will no doubt be comparing the data of the two drivers closely.
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