The 2025 F1 grid will see as many as six rookies make their full-time debut, even though Liam Lawson already had 11 race starts under his belt. Naturally, with the stock of the sport rising, this is a testament to how well the feeder series such as F3 and F2 are going to shine a light on young talent in the sport.
For instance, last season, the sport saw no rookie drivers take the grid at the season-opening race — the first time it happened in the history of F1.
Having said that, despite all the talent and skill the rookies possess, their first-ever Grand Prix at the pinnacle of open-wheel, single-seater motor racing was always going to be a trial by fire or rather rain as the heavens opened up at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.
Besides Lawson, who crashed and retired to have a wretched first full-time race for Red Bull, some of the real rookie drivers of 2025 also crashed and had their moments in the treacherous conditions in Melbourne. But some did brave their way through to show some promise on debut.
Isack Hadjar
The RB driver was coming off the back of a slim defeat in the 2024 F2 championship and wanting to make an impression on his F1 debut. After qualifying the highest of the rookie batch on Saturday, it seemed as though Hadjar was on course to do just that.
Starting from P11, the French-Algerian racing ace was fielding a strong position. But his race ended even before it could officially start. The 20-year-old crashed out during the formation lap — postponing the start of the Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton’s dad, Anthony Hamilton, comforts Isack Hadjar ❤️#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/lZUzPNO3j1
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025
Hadjar’s off meant that his VCARB-02 took irreparable damage to its rear wing and rear suspension. The monumental disaster was not lost on the rookie as he burst into tears at the scene of the accident — needing Lewis Hamilton’s father, Anthony, to console him in the paddock.
Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto
Doohan had impressed the paddock in the days leading up to the Grand Prix. At his home race, the Australian youngster had put in a decent shift during qualifying to start 14th on the grid.
Doohan’s father, revered Moto GP legend, Mick Doohan was also in attendance to see how his son’s F1 debut would pan out. But the treacherous conditions and probably the nerves got to the #7 driver as he crashed out in the initial laps to initiate the first safety car period.
On the other hand, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was enjoying a solid debut for the Hinwil-based team. The 2024 F2 champion was running a strong P13 into the final stint of the race when the weather caught him out.
The rain started pouring down in the final phase of the Grand Prix as Bortoleto put the power down too soon in the final sector of the track. This meant he spun off as he touched the kerbs going into turn 14 — ending his race as well.
Oliver Bearman
Haas’ Oliver Bearman had a weekend to forget at the Albert Park Circuit. He crashed out during both, the FP2 and FP3 sessions. Going into qualifying, his VF-25’s gearbox gave up, relegating him to plum last for the Grand Prix.
A sizeable shunt for Ollie Bearman in FP1
He thankfully walked away from the incident unharmed#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/U4wEvf4HyB
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 14, 2025
However, things looked better for the British racing driver as he at least finished the race. Keeping himself out of trouble, Bearman did take the chequered flag albeit in last place (P14) out of the classified finishers, around eight seconds behind his teammate, Esteban Ocon.
Kimi Antonelli
A lot of eyes were on Mercedes’ 18-year-old prodigy, Kimi Antonelli, debuting in Australia. And at first, it seemed like the pressure of the moment had gotten to him with the Italian prodigy getting knocked out in Q1 on Saturday.
But, the #12 driver lived up to his name by putting on a brilliant recovery drive. Starting from P16, Antonelli braved the conditions and genuinely put no foot wrong as he tried to catch up to his teammate, George Russell, who was in the top three for a large part of the Grand Prix.
In the end, Antonelli finished a solid P4, right behind Russell, who got third at the chequered flag. That said, the Italian had got a five-second penalty from race control for an unsafe release, which meant that he dropped behind the Williams of Alex Albon to finish in fifth place in the final classification.
Post the race’s conclusion, Mercedes immediately appealed to revoke the penalty by presenting new video evidence which the stewards had not seen. This led to the stewards removing the penalty and restoring Antonelli’s P4 finish — a relatively excellent outing than his peers.
