“It’s a Gift”: David Coulthard on ‘Young Drivers’ Getting to Race Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso

The 2025 F1 grid will feature four rookie drivers, alongside Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman, who have made occasional appearances over the past two years. Meanwhile, the sport will continue to showcase its stalwarts, with legends like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso still competing at the highest level.

David Coulthard believes that it is a gift for these young drivers to be able to test the waters against some of the greatest drivers this sport has seen. Between themselves, Alonso and Hamilton have won nine World Championships.

“Formula 1 right now has a brilliant lineup of young drivers, let’s say mid-experienced drivers, and then we’ve got the two old-timers in Lewis and Fernando with only nine world championships between them,” he said on the Formula for Success podcast.

“So, it’s a hell of a gift to those young drivers to be able to race against people that they probably idolized when they were younger,” the ex-Red Bull driver added.

Mercedes, Alpine, RB, and Sauber have put all their trust into newcomers Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar, and Gabriel Bortoleto respectively. Lawson and Bearman, who have already made substitute appearances in the sport, will line up for Red Bull and Haas.

2025 shaping up to become a milestone year for rookie F1 drivers

The last two seasons in F1 have been challenging for junior drivers trying to make their mark. In 2024, for the first time in the sport’s history, no rookies started on the grid. The year before, 2019 F2 Champion Nyck de Vries was dismissed mid-season due to poor performances.

The 2025 season is shaping up to be one where at least half the teams on the grid have placed their trust in the younger generation of drivers. Furthermore, Red Bull has promoted Lawson to their main team after his stint with its sister team in 2023 and then in 2024.

Plus, Ferrari junior Bearman has been signed by the Scuderia’s customer team, Haas, following impressive cameo performances in 2024 at the Saudi Arabian GP and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the Maranello-based squad.