How Formula One's newest debutant's fared on the opening weekend

Rhonan Colquhoun 11:25pm 18th March 2025

FOR the first time since 2010, the start to the 2025 Formula One season has six rookie drivers competing in the opening weekend. For six of the current teams, they have opted to put their faith in the youth and the inexperienced; so how did F1's newest stars fare over the course of the Australian Grand Prix weekend?

Not one of the six rookies had a perfect weekend - which was completely expected - with all six experiencing a range of emotions over the course of their three days of running round Albert Park.

Some had terrific Saturdays but poor Sundays while others had the opposite - poor Saturdays but terrific Sundays - with a few just having a really difficult time.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Qualified: 16th - 1:16:525

Finished: 4th (12 points)

Antonelli, on his debut weekend, never quite found the pace to match team-mate George Russell but that was to be expected - what wasn't expected was his Q1 elimination. On paper, it seemed like the Mercedes driver was just too slow however a wide moment at Turn 6 after his initial laps in the first session, led to floor damage costing tenths of a second hence his early qualifying exit.

Despite a spin during the race - dropping a tyre off the road - on the entry to Turn 3, Antonelli managed to make his way up the field and avoided mistakes that had caught out other drivers.

Making the right call to come in for Intermediate tyres on Lap 44 - the same lap for the majority of the field - ensured that he jumped from running in tenth to fifth instead. The Mercedes driver swooped round the outside of Williams Alex Albon with a penultimate lap overtake into Turn 9 complete a brilliant drive up the field.

Antonelli was by far the most impressive rookie come race day with the Italian - after coming home in fourth - becoming the second-youngest point score in F1 history at just 18 years, 6 months and 19 days.

Oliver Bearman (Haas)

Qualified: 20th (no time)

Finished: 14th

In his fourth Grand Prix, Bearman found himself on the backfoot with a lack of running and knowledge in a Formula One car stemming from a horrific day on the Friday. The young Brit had only completed 12 laps before running wide and missing the apex at the fast 10 which sent the Haas driver over the kerb and then spinning towards the barrier after losing control.

Forced to sit-out the rest of FP1, his mechanics worked throughout their lunch break to rebuild the car ahead of FP2 but their effort was to no avail as the clock bet them to it. Come Saturday and the final practice session, Bearman dipped a tyre onto the grass on the entry to Turn 11 after only two laps. He then was forced to miss the rest of the session and come qualifying; a gearbox glitch meant that he was unable to set a lap time.

Opting to start from the pit-lane after suspension changes, Bearman at least kept it clean throughout the 57 laps to finish behind team-mate Esteban Ocon albeit the last of the 14 classified finishers. Bearman can at least walk away from this weekend now knowing how important it is to gain mileage - and confidence - over the course of a Grand Prix weekend.

Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

Qualified: 18th - 1:17:094

Finished: DNF

Despite having two, short, separate stints over the course of 2023 and 2024 - many still class Lawson as a rookie as Australia was still only his 12th Grand Prix start. The New Zealander starts his first-full season in the sport with one of the biggest and most ruthless teams on the grid - Red Bull.

Lawson was solid throughout the Friday practice sessions but come Saturday - his lack of knowledge of never racing round Albert Park showed. His final practice session was ruined by an air intake problem which meant he was on the backfoot heading into qualifying. As Lawson struggled to keep temperature in his tyres throughout the whole lap - he ran wide on his final lap in Q1 at Turn 13 - which confirmed his fate as he was eliminated in Q1.

Opting to start from the pit-lane after set-up changes, Lawson had a uneventful race down the order until the rain started to fall in the second half of the race. Opting to stay out on dry tyres while the majority of the grid had pitted for the Intermediate tyre, Lawson crashed exiting Turn 1 which contributed to the re-appearance of the Safety Car. He now has to put this weekend behind him and move onto the next race.

Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)

Qualified: 15th - 1:17:520

Finished: DNF

One of the many surprises of the first qualifying session of 2025, Bortoleto managed to get his tricky Kick Sauber into Q2 - out-qualifying more experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg who found himself knocked-out in 17th.

His quickest lap in the second session was over one second slower than the time that got him out of the Q1 danger-zone as the Brazilian lost time in the early part of the lap.

Apart from the other two rookies, Bortoleto made it further into the race before losing his car on the exit kerb of Turn 12 whilst on the Intermediate tyre. Up until then, the Brazilian battled with a problematic brake issue and lost time in the pits with an unsafe release. It was unfortunate that he didn't see the chequered flag but overall, a good debut from the F2 Champion.

Jack Doohan (Alpine)

Qualified: 14th - 1:16:863

Finished: DNF

Even before the sport rocked-up to Australia, Jack Doohan has been under the spot-light with intense pressure to perform with the Australian under threat with his Alpine contract only valid for a handful of races. Not technically his official debut - with Doohan racing in the 2024 finale in Abu Dhabi - the rookie kept his head down and performed well throughout the three practice sessions.

Ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly for the first two practice sessions, Doohan set himself up for qualifying on home soil. His first run in Q2 was solid however a spot inside the top 10 might have been on the cards if not for Lewis Hamilton's spinning Ferrari in the final sector which meant that Doohan had to back-off - unable to improve his lap time.

His inexperience showed very quickly as the race began with the Australian crashing heavily into the barriers - dropping his Alpine on the exit of Turn 5. The speed for Doohan was there for him over the dry weekend and if it had remained dry, he could have been a contender for points. To be matched close with Gasly over the course of the weekend, will relieve a bit of pressure off of his shoulders.

Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

Qualified: 11th - 1:16.175

Finished: DNS

Throughout the three practice sessions, Hadjar was the most impressive rookie with the Racing Bulls driver placing his VCARB 02 in sixth place in FP2. Come qualifying, the French Algerian driver just missed out on a sport inside the top 10 - 0.166s behind more experienced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Hadjar won the bragging rights to be "the highest-placed rookie" with 11th on the grid - ahead of the two Aston Martin's with Alpine's Jack Doohan the closest rookie behind in 14th place.

However, Hadjar's hard-work came undone as he lost control of his car on the formation lap which sent him rearwards into the barriers at the exit of Turn 1. It was the definition of a rookie error - which Hadjar acknowledged as his out-burst of emotions was caught on camera. While Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said Hadjar's reaction was "embarrassing", Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner had more sympathy and stated Hadjar's strong performance over the weekend led him to believe that the junior driver has "got many bright days ahead of him."