The next generation: what to expect from F1's youngsters and rookies

It's been a while since we have seen this many rookies join the grid in a single F1 season. This year started off with no new drivers as well, the first such season since all the way back in 1969.

There appeared to be a reluctance for teams to risk putting an inexperienced drivers behind the wheel of their cars, especially with the midfield battle so tight. A few extra points throughout the season could bring back tens of millions extra into the pot.

Furthermore, as exemplified by Mick Schumacher for Haas in 2021, new drivers appeared more susceptible to finding the barriers and destroying their cars, a thorn in the side for smaller outfits with limited budgets.

However, with standout stand-in drives from rookies including Nyck de Vries at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, and more recently Oliver Bearman at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, teams seem to have more faith in up and coming talents than in previous years.

Liam Lawson has already poached Daniel Ricciardo's seat at RB, while Franco Colapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams for the remainder of the current campaign. At least four drivers will get their first taste of full-time Formula 1 from 2025, being Bearman, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

So what can we expect from each of the 2025 rookies not just next year, but in the far future as well?

First up, we have the 19-year-old Oliver Bearman. The young Briton turned heads with his last-minute stand-in performance at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With Carlos Sainz out after a surgery to remove his inflamed appendix, Bearman stepped into the Spaniard's Ferrari and managed to finish in the points in P7. This was particularly awe-inspiring given he was far too tall for the car and the fact that his neck gave out halfway through the gruelling race.

He has since taken part in two more F1 races for Haas, at the Azerbaijan and Sao Paulo Grand Prix when one of the American outfit's drivers were unavailable. He did well around the streets of Baku, becoming the first driver in the history of the sport to score points in their first two races for two different teams.

However, the youngster struggled around Interlagos, spinning numerous times and failing to finish in the top ten when he really should have. Furthermore, Bearman has endured a difficult season in Formula 2, currently P15 in the Drivers' Standings.

While he has shown that he's capable of adapting to life in F1 very quickly and can be fast at times, Bearman is undoubtedly a pay driver. A fast pay driver for sure, not too dissimilar to the Sergio Perez of old, but he brings generous funding for Haas thanks to his father's billion-dollar businesses.

If he wants a shot at the bigger teams, he will have to find further improvement once in his full-time seat.

A young prodigy with a history of Drivers' Titles, the 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli has had a lot of hype from F1 fans in recent years. The Italian has won four Championships in three years in Formula 4 and Formula Regional classes, mirroring feats accomplished by the likes of Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc in their earlier days.

His debut F2 season in 2024 hasn't gone quite as well, though this can be largely attributed to Prema Racing's struggles with car setup in the first half of the season. Once that was sorted out, Antonelli has waltzed to the front of the field with two wins and a further podium in a category rife with talent.

Some will say he is too young to be driving for a top team like Mercedes so soon, but the best drivers have the ability to extract the best out of themselves and those around them right from the get go. Much like with Verstappen, and his namesake Kimi Raikkonen, we could possibly see Antonelli fighting it out for podiums straight away. That is as long as Mercedes don't produce a terrible car for 2025.

The latest addition to the rookie lineup is Gabriel Bortoleto. He will join Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber next year, the pair replacing the outgoing Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu from 2025.

Bortoleto is leading the current F2 Championship with just a single round remaining. His Title challenge has been helped by his impressive consistency, retiring only three times and racking up five podiums including two feature race victories. His win at Monza from 22nd on the starting grid was especially first-rate.

Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he is going to be driving for Sauber. A Sauber that is decidedly the slowest of the ten teams at the moment and will continue to focus most of their attention on 2026 in anticipation of an Audi takeover. Bortoleto is therefore likely to spend most of his debut campaign at the foot of the field.

Hopefully this doesn't damage his confidence of his marketability too much, because there is no denying that the 20-year-old is speedy.

Son of multiple motorcycle World Champion Mick Doohan, the pressure is on for Jack Doohan to perform and live up to his father's name.

Doohan hasn't appeared much in the headlines, and thus some F1 fans have forgotten about him. He has taken a year out of racing after finishing third in the 2023 F2 Standings, which is not as high as some of the others on this list have achieved. Despite landing a drive with Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly for 2025, expectations aren't the highest for the Australian.

However, Doohan has spent an entire season as Alpine's reserve driver, and thus is intimately familiar with the way the French team works. Therefore, he may be the first to get up to speed behind the wheel while some of the less experienced stars are still learning the ropes.

Franco Colapinto has astounded many with his immediate impact in F1 as Sargeant's replacement at Williams Racing. He has gone toe-to-toe with teammate Alexander Albon in both Qualifying and the races, and Albon is no slouch.

He's scored points in the FW46 twice, at the Azerbaijan and United States Grands Prix, something that Sargeant was never able to do in 2024. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was a snap back to reality for the Argentinian, but he's already shown himself capable of mixing it with the rest of the grid this year.

Sadly he doesn't have a drive for 2025, but this could change at any moment with many of the rumours swirling about. That second seat at RB still needs filling after all. Not only is he young, he's also already proved himself in the last six Grands Prix. A last minute driver swap is certainly possible.