Formula 1 will welcome four rookies to the grid next year promoted from the F2, a record for the junior single-seater feeder series.
Championship winner Gabriel Bortoleto will make the switch to Sauber alongside Nico Hulkenberg, while Oliver Bearman will make his full-time F1 debut with Haas replacing Kevin Magnussen.
Jack Doohan made an early debut with Alpine in Abu Dhabi where he finished P15, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Red Bull is known for bringing talent through the ranks and creating success stories, having done exactly that with Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and latterly Max Verstappen in 2015.
Discussing who he thinks will be the rookie to watch next year with Sky Sports Germany, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko thinks there will be one out of the next crop of drivers that will be tough for them to face.
Helmut Marko names Andrea Kimi Antonelli as toughest opponent next season
Antonelli will make his debut for Mercedes at just 18 years old, marking him one of the youngest drivers to ever race for the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes decided to take a bet on the Italian after missing out on Verstappen during the early stages of his career, and now the Italian will be thrown in at the deep end.
Mercedes has provided an important support network around Kimi Antonelli, but Marko expects him to be a tough opponent to compete against.
“It’s getting tighter. McLaren is stable in the driver pairing, but at Ferrari it will of course be interesting with Leclerc,” said Marko.
“Hamilton has driven a great race on the medium tyres, but how it is with Ferrari, you have to look. Antonelli in the Mercedes will not be easy either. I see the advantage that we have a clear number one with Max.”
Red Bull faces decision over Sergio Perez that could have implication on rookie driver
Red Bull faces a decision to make over the future of Sergio Perez, following a dissapointing end to his season in Abu Dhabi.
Perez’s race lasted six corners before he made race-ending contact with Valtteri Bottas, with a gearbox issue ending his race on the first lap.
Red Bull is expected to make a decision on the future of Perez, which could have implications on another rookie driver in their stable.
If the team decides to replace him with Liam Lawson, Frenchman Isack Hadjar could make the step up to F1 with Visa CashApp RB in his place. Hadjar was competing against Bortoleto for the F2 title at Yas Marina, although his hopes of winning were dashed when he stalled on the line in the final race of the season.
Leave feedback about this