Andrea Kimi Antonelli takes the place of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The Italian is the first driver since 2007 to make his debut directly in a top team
Image: Keystone
Another of a total of six rookies this season: Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto drives for the Sauber team
Image: Keystone
Isack Hadjar from Team Visa is another rookie
Image: Keystone
Oliver Bearman (right) from Team Haas has already contested several Grands Prix last season
Image: Keystone
Liam Lawson (left) is the new team-mate of world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull
Image: Keystone
Australian Jack Doohan is also contesting his first Formula 1 season with Alpine
Image: Keystone
Still hasn't had enough of Formula 1 at the age of 43: perennial favorite Fernando Alonso
Image: Keystone
Andrea Kimi Antonelli takes the place of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The Italian is the first driver since 2007 to make his debut directly in a top team
Image: Keystone
Another of a total of six rookies this season: Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto drives for the Sauber team
Image: Keystone
Isack Hadjar from Team Visa is another rookie
Image: Keystone
Oliver Bearman (right) from Team Haas has already contested several Grands Prix last season
Image: Keystone
Liam Lawson (left) is the new team-mate of world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull
Image: Keystone
Australian Jack Doohan is also contesting his first Formula 1 season with Alpine
Image: Keystone
Still hasn't had enough of Formula 1 at the age of 43: perennial favorite Fernando Alonso
Image: Keystone
A year after the novelty of not changing a single driver, a lot has happened in Formula 1 this winter. Only two of the ten teams are starting with the same driver pairing.
14.03.2025, 05:01
14.03.2025, 06:58
SDA
Compared to the previous season, almost no stone has been left unturned in the paddock. The surprising transfer of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to Ferrari was the catalyst for the big shake-up. Only the world champion team McLaren and Aston Martin will continue to rely on the proven personnel in the cockpit in 2025 and will start the new season with the same driver duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll respectively.
No fewer than six rookies - the highest number in 20 years - will tackle their first Formula 1 season as regular drivers next Sunday. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) and Isack Hadjar (Visa) will contest the first Grand Prix of their careers in Melbourne. Oliver Bearman (Haas), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Liam Lawson (Red Bull) have already gained racing experience in the premier class, but are about to start their first full season. They are therefore only considered "half" rookies.
A quarter of a century age difference
The talented youngsters do not have much time to get used to the limelight of motor racing's elite class. But compared to the past, the young drivers are much better prepared for the big challenge thanks to targeted support in junior categories and intensive simulator training. It is therefore hardly surprising that drivers such as Bearman and Lawson immediately scored points in their first races.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is under special observation. The Italian, who finished sixth in Formula 2 last season and is regarded as the new shooting star among the young drivers, is expected to do well at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's successor.
Antonelli is the first driver since 2007 to make his debut directly in a top team. He will make his debut on Sunday as the third youngest driver in Formula 1 history - at the age of 18 years and six months. By comparison, there is a 25-year age difference between Antonelli and Fernando Alonso, the oldest of the 20 drivers. Antonelli's team-mate at Mercedes, George Russell, is eight years older.
It is perhaps asking a lot to expect a newcomer to be able to put his experienced team-mate under pressure straight away in his first year. But if you really have what it takes to become a champion, you hardly need any start-up time. That was the case with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The former became the youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history, the latter almost became world champion in his debut season.
Hamilton's new title dream at 40
Hamilton himself made the most spectacular change in the driver line-up this winter. After twelve successful years at Mercedes, in which he won six of his seven world championship titles, the Englishman decided to open a new (and probably final) chapter in his unprecedented Formula 1 career at Ferrari at the age of 40. It remains to be seen how the record champion will fit in with the Reds and whether he will actually succeed in bringing the title back to Maranello after almost 20 years. His team-mate Charles Leclerc has certainly been warned.
