Every now and then, a Formula 1 season produces a rookie crop that goes on to have a profound impact on grand prix racing. Based on the evidence so far, 2025 could be one of those. 

It’s far too early for bold declarations about it matching up to some of the great rookie fields in history, such as 2001 when Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso were among the newcomers, or 2007, when Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel broke into F1, but so far it looks promising. 

Read more: Top 10 rookie crops of the 21st century

This is our ranking the rookies based on their performances, laying out what they ideally need to achieve next year if they are to take the next step.

1st - Isack Hadjar

When Hadjar shunted on the formation lap in Australia, there was a legitimate concern that his season could fall apart. After all, Red Bull wasn’t entirely convinced by him before it gave him the Racing Bulls seat.

But as Hadjar put it at the end of the season, “it was just another big punch in the face, and I took it”.

What followed was a strong rookie season, one in which he showed he was adaptable, set high standards for himself (he described himself as “satisfied-ish” with his season), and with a knack for delivering. Failing to escape Q1 just twice in 30 attempts, a figure only eclipsed by the top five in the championship, is testament to that. That was doubly impressive given his opportunities in F1 machinery prior to 2025 had been so limited.

The Zandvoort podium finish was his high point, but there were plenty of good weekends outside of that. He also had several races where he lost points to problems outside of his control - notably in Qatar, where his front wing failed late on and gave him a puncture. 

There were mistakes along the way, for example, crashing on his first Q1 lap in Austin, but while he drew attention to even smaller errors with his trademark ‘Isack smack’ reactions as he pounded the steering wheel of helmet, there weren’t as many as you would expect of a newcomer.

The next challenge: Hadjar has the toughest assignment of all the rookies in 2026. Having excelled in a Racing Bulls machine that was relatively easy to set-up and performed well across a range of tracks, he must show he can do what Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda couldn’t and make it work as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.

Much could depend on whether the clean sheet of the new regulations means the Red Bull is a better car to drive in terms of eliminating the disconnected balance, and how Hadjar stands up to the challenge mentally if he doesn’t make a good start.

2nd - Ollie Bearman

There’s nothing more frustrating in F1 than watching a driver who has genuine speed but constantly finds ways to turn it into failure. That was the story of the first half of Bearman’s season. 

Mistakes such as crashing under red flag conditions in practice at Silverstone and multiple practice offs in Australia meant results were too patchy, although there were also problems not of his making - for example at Imola where he was quick and raced well but was undone by red flag misfortune and a pitstop error so came away with terrible on-paper results. 

What stood out was how he consolidated what he’d learned during the August break. That’s easy to say but not so easy to do, but Bearman came back a tidier driver. He still wasn’t perfect, but you wouldn’t expect him to be, with his halo result of fourth in Mexico backed up by a series of strong performances, including a midfield-leading ninth in Singapore.

The next challenge: While he will always dead-bat any such questions Bearman will be all-too-aware that he could be racing for a Ferrari promotion for 2027.

In his second season with Haas, he needs to build on his progress after the summer shutdown and become even more consistent. While he outperformed team-mate Esteban Ocon in 2025, he could also face a renewed challenge from the other side of the garage.

If he is to have a chance of leaping into Ferrari, if there’s a vacancy, then he needs to be consistently outstanding. 

3rd - Kimi Antonelli

It was always going to be tough for Antonelli to live up to the hype - much of it generated by Mercedes' own confidence in him - in his first season, given his inexperience and the fact that he was being measured against an outstanding team-mate in George Russell.

His rookie campaign won’t go down as a great one, but he nonetheless showed his qualities.

It was a year of three parts. The first third, erratic, showing in fits and starts - notably the Miami sprint pole position - that he had pace but ultimately not being entirely convincing. However, he also showed he was a quick study, for example turning things round after a difficult first day of practice at Suzuka.

In the middle, the Mercedes misstep with the rear suspension upgrade that created instability made life particularly tricky for a driver of his attacking style - with Antonelli himself suggesting it cost him two or three months.

At the end, he became more consistent and had weekends where he was troubling Russell - notably at Interlagos, where he was clearly the better Mercedes driver.

However, Antonelli showed enough to prove that Mercedes’s confidence was not misplaced. His maturity, capacity to learn and sporadic speed mean he should coalesce into a compelling performer in the future.

The next challenge: Antonelli’s youth and inexperience meant his first year was always likely to be a rollercoaster, but he must be closer to Russell more consistently, and ideally ahead of him more often, in 2026. That’s a lot to ask for, but the bar is high because he’s backed by Mercedes as a future world champion and in his second season has to show that spark.

The trend was encouraging at the back end of ‘25 and if he can be a thorn in the side of Russell and the Mercedes is as strong as some expect then it could be a huge season for him.

He might not have had the all-time great rookie year some hoped for, but his second act has the potential to be a classic.

4th - Gabriel Bortoleto

Fourth feels harsh for a driver who made a big enough impression to have been the standout rookie in many seasons, and Bortoleto’s first year was a strong one. What let him down was his erratic form after the August break. 

There was no recurring reason why he struggled to turn underlying performance into results in the second half of the year, but he only scored twice - in Italy and Mexico - across the final 10 events. There were some mistakes in that run, notably in his nightmare Brazil weekend, where the home pressure got to him, and at the start at Las Vegas, but that wasn’t part of a wider pattern of errors.

Qualifying, having been a strength relative to Nico Hulkenberg early in the season in the tricky-to-drive Sauber, proved tough and he too often ended up just on the wrong side of cutoffs in qualifying.

Ultimately, Bortoleto’s return of 19 points to Hulkenberg’s 51 was disappointing and as he showed during the golden spell that started in Austria in late June that he’s capable of putting together outstanding weekends - with his performance at the Hungaroring the highlight. But that should have happened a little more often in the final part of the season. 

The next challenge: There’s no doubt about Bortoleto’s underlying speed, or his capacity to put together good race weekends. But he needs to up his strike rate and reassert himself over team-mate Hulkenberg after his shaky end to the season.

If Audi starts well, there’s a chance it could become an attractive destination and Bortoleto needs to make absolutely sure that if there is a change, it’s on the other side of the garage, and he cements his status as the team’s lynchpin.

First on the agenda is to continue where he left off in Abu Dhabi with a Q3 appearance and ensure his qualifying execution is more consistent.

5th - Franco Colapinto

Colapinto is classified as a rookie as, like Bearman, he had a part-campaign in 2024. And given he had the disadvantage of no pre-season, a late start after Jack Doohan and a poor car in the Alpine, it was always going to be hard to make an impression. 

A crash in Q1 on his first outing at Imola was a bad start, and his first seven outings were patchy - although he did get in the mix to score in Montreal on his way to 12th. From Hungary at the start of August onwards, he had a run making decent progress with occasions when his pace compared very well to Gasly’s.

However, after his crash at Interlagos he complained about the return of struggles in combination braking/turning corners and, with the Alpine at its worst, had a trying end to the season.

The next challenge: Finally, Colapinto has the chance of a full F1 season with pre-season testing, potentially in an Alpine that’s a bigger threat next year.

The shine of his early Williams performances, which led to a spell where he was genuinely a potential target for Red Bull, has faded and he likely needs to get some good results relative to team-mate Pierre Gasly on the board early on to settle any questions about his future.

He has shown flashes of speed, and has the kind of inner confidence you need in F1, but is in danger of being regarded primarily as an avenue to sponsorship among the teams.

He can correct that narrative by delivering his best work in ‘26.

6th - Jack Doohan

Doohan was a marked man even before the season started, with Flavio Briatore having an eye on getting Colapinto into the car and pulling in sponsorship along with it.

That made Doohan’s job almost impossible - although ultimately he could have made himself undroppable if he’d hit the ground running.

His underlying speed measured up well to Gasly on several of his outings and he flirted with a points finish in Bahrain before fading in the final stint. While there were a few collisions along the way, and the shunt in FP2 at Suzuka when he erroneously had the DRS flap open for Turn 1 was a particularly painful moment, there was no reason to have flicked him after Miami, given the early promise.

However, his limited opportunities mean it’s impossible to rank him any higher than sixth.

The next challenge: Doohan is on course to race for Kondo Racing in Super Formula next season. In such a competitive and unfamiliar championship, he has the opportunity to remind everyone of the performance level that earned him his F1 chance in the first place.

If he can do that while helping to revive the fortunes of a team that’s coming off the back of three winless seasons, it should reignite his career. Hitting the wall at Suzuka’s Degner 2 on each of the three days of his first test earlier this month was, however, not an ideal start.