rookies𐙚 – sumaya on the grid⋆.𐙚 ̊

We will first be starting with Ollie Bearman, who in my opinion, is quite the underrated driver. During his debut race in Saudi Arabia last year, he was able to score points while covering for Carlos Sainz, which to me seems like an amazing feat especially when driving the world-renowned Ferrari. By finishing 7th, he became the youngest British driver to score points on debut since 2011 and was voted Driver of the Day by many fans. Just last week he pulled an incredible stint of making up 10 grid positions and claiming p6, showing that despite not having the best qualifying record compared to the rookies, Oliver Bearman has been holding his own quite well in his Haas car. On the other hand, Bearman is no stranger to penalties and challenges. A 10-place grid drop and 2 penalty points in Monaco and another in Silverstone has unfortunately overshadowed his successes for many Formula One watchers. To me, however, Bearman shows great promise, perhaps even gaining a Ferrari seat in the near future.

Next we have the F3 and F2 champion, Gabriel Bortoleto. This is a rookie who has improved the most in the eyes of many fans and myself. Although his season started off rocky, with a DNF in Miami, he was able to have an amazing breakthrough moment in Austria. Starting p8, Bortoleto drove a measured race and was able to score his first points. Budapest was also an exceptional race from Bortoleto as he finished 6th, and gained praise from Fernando Alonso, who called him ‘the best rookie of his generation.’ Although Bortoleto is driving a Sauber, when the car has delivered, so has he. However, because he is in a Sauber, Bortoleto has had three DNFs, and isn’t the most consistent rookie on the grid as we speak. But that could all change in the next few races.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the driver everyone was looking forward for this year. And this continued to be the case after his first race in Melbourne, where although he qualified p16, became 4th amidst the chaotic conditions, only dropping down to p5 after receiving a five-second penalty. Kimi started his season off with an impressive high note, becoming the youngest driver ever to lead a race at just 18 years and 224 days old and getting the youngest fastest lap record too. His podium in Canada was an incredible show of his talents and especially that early into the season too. But a rookie is still a rookie and Kimi has seen his fair share of mistakes during this season. But personally, I think Kimi has the most media burden than the other rookies, as he is unfairly expected to do much better than the rest, as he is in a Mercedes. This pressure is perhaps too much for a 19 year old to handle by himself, and although he has had some amazing successes this season, f1 fans have pushed that aside and have instead started comparing him To Max Verstappen. In my opinion, this is extremely detrimental to his confidence, as Kimi is his own person and shouldn’t be compared to the 4-time world champion.

Now, is the most unexpected rookie, Isack Hadjar. During pre-season, there was some commotion about Isack Hadjar getting a seat at VCARB, claiming that he wasn’t ready for F1 due to his particular affinity for screaming over the radio in Formula 2. This narrative only proceeded when Isack had an unfortunate opening to the season by crashing during the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix. Anthony Hamilton consoled the crying driver but this tender moment didn’t stop Helmut Marko from claiming this burst of raw emotion as ’embarrassing.’ But it didn’t take long for Isack Hadjar to bounce back and claim his first points in Suzuka, finishing p8. Isack was the only driver to hold the title of no Q1 exits, until Monza. After the horrible events in Australia, Hadjar has made an incredible comeback and has proved everyone wrong by getting his first F1 podium in Zandvoort, gaining praise from his all-time idol Lewis Hamilton and from his fellow F1 drivers as well. Personally, Isack Hadjar has shown the most growth as a driver, climbing from the depths of media scrutiny into claiming his podium just 14 races after.

Thus, every rookie is going through their own journeys, some less fortunate than others, but they all show great promise for the future. And who knows, maybe one day we will witness them fighting for championships.⋆. 𐙚 ˚