The five new rookies joining the F1 grid in 2025 will have the honour of sharing the track with Lewis Hamilton, among other top talents.
This season’s new pool of drivers is a sharp contrast to the previous year. The 2024 campaign started with no rookies on the grid – the first time that has happened in the sport’s history.
Now, in 2025, a quarter of the grid is made up of new talents looking to make an impression in the pinnacle of motorsport. Four of them have come from F2 with champion Gabriel Bortoleto joining Sauber and runner-up Isack Hadjar signing with Racing Bulls.
Kimi Antonelli has replaced Hamilton at Mercedes while his PREMA teammate Oliver Bearman will race with Haas. The Brit has already made appearances in F1 – making three starts in 2024 – as well as Liam Lawson (11) and Jack Doohan (one), who havw signed with Red Bull and Alpine respectively.
Interestingly, Haas’ latest signing is not classified as a rookie after racing in three Grand Prix. Bearman thinks the decision is ‘harsh’ as he believes he is a rookie with his lack of experience.
But the 19-year-old does have more knowledge than Antonelli, Hadjar and Bortoleto going into 2025. Each of them will have a great benchmark to look up to in Hamilton – and one of them got a bit starstruck when meeting F1’s most successful driver.
Isack Hadjar was ‘sweating’ when he met Lewis Hamilton for the first time
It is not uncommon knowledge that Racing Bulls’ new recruit is a huge admirer of the seven-time world champion. Hadjar labelled Hamilton as the F1 ‘GOAT’ back in 2022 – now he will get to race alongside him.
The Frenchman has previously shared the track with the Ferrari driver when he made his first FP1 appearance at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix with AlphaTauri. Hadjar wanted to wave at Hamilton in a wholesome exchange over his radio.
The 20-year-old was seen shaking hands with Hamilton at a photoshoot during pre-season testing in Bahrain. Speaking on the official F1 YouTube channel in a special with the F1 rookies, Bortoleto says Hadjar was ‘sweating’ meeting his idol for the first time.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know
Asked which driver the rookies look up to, Bearman pointed at Hadjar and said: “He loves Lewis Hamilton.”
The Frenchman responded: “Big Lewis fan,” before the Haas driver added: “I know he loves Lewis Hamilton because we did FP1 together in Mexico and he was like: ‘I’m going to wave to Lewis when we drive.’
Bortoleto then shared the exchange Hadjar had with Hamilton in Bahrain: “He was sweating the day we did a photoshoot, like he saw Lewis and he started… When he gave the hand and he was sweating!”
Asked whether Hamilton knew how big of a fan Hadjar was, the Racing Bulls driver replied: “I think he doesn’t know.”
How will Isack Hadjar fare at Racing Bulls in 2025?
Hadjar is only contracted for 2025 with Racing Bulls. Knowing how cutthroat Red Bull can be with their young drivers, the 20-year-old will have to perform or face losing his seat.
Yuki Tsunoda will be a great benchmark as his teammate this season. The Japanese driver is in his fifth season with the Faenza-based outfit after being snubbed by Lawson for the second Red Bull seat.
Hadjar has displayed strong pace in F2 and during testing but has a reputation for having a hot head over his radio. Martin Brundle has told Hadjar to keep cool in 2025 and not let his emotions take over.
Many key figures have differing opinions on how the Frenchman will do in 2025. Ralf Schumacher thinks Hadjar will beat Tsunoda and possibly send him ‘into retirement’ – he is also out of contract at the end of the year.
But Ted Kravitz is not buying Red Bull’s claim that Hadjar is as quick, if not quicker than Tsunoda already. He has not seen enough from the 20-year-old in testing to suggest he will be.
Leave feedback about this