Red Bull choice to backfire as rookie picked out as key struggler in 2025
Our writers pick out a rookie who will face tough times this year
Formula 1 will have a host of new drivers this season.
Liam Lawson, although by now a regular, will start a season for the first time for the Racing Bulls team.
Notably, Andrea Kimi Antonelli will debut as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes.
F1 teams have selected rookies ahead of experienced names this year.
Jack Doohan is in at Alpine, Gabriel Bortoleto is driving for Sauber, Oliver Bearman is with Haas, and Isack Hadjar is alongside Lawson for the Racing Bulls.
Our writers picked out the rookie who will find F1 too difficult…
Connor McDonagh: While Isack Hadjar fought for the Formula 2 title, narrowly missing out on the top prize to Gabriel Bortoleto, he will have a tough time in F1.
Yuki Tsunoda is performing at a high level - ask his last three teammates - and was unfortunate to miss out on a Red Bull drive.
Hadjar will be under pressure to perform, particularly with Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings.
Lewis Larkam: Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian arrives on the F1 grid highly-rated following his title-winning exploits in Formula 2, but he will find success hard to come by at struggling backmarkers Sauber.
That’s not to say he won’t do a good job, but his performance will be harder to judge given Sauber had the slowest car on the grid for much of 2024.
Things are unlikely to change this year with the soon-to-be Audi team’s focus largely on 2026.
Nico Hulkenberg will provide Bortoleto with an incredibly tough test as his first F1 teammate, too.
Lewis Duncan: Unfortunately, Jack Doohan looks like he’s going to be dealing with immense pressure from the off in 2025.
Towards the end of last season there were reports that Alpine, and in particular Flavio Briatore, didn’t see Doohan as being a long-term prospect.
Purely because of the fact that he looks like starting the year having to learn F1 and also try to save his career before it has even gotten off the ground, Doohan is likely to be in a position where he is over-driving and making mistakes as a result.
