We are three races into the Formula One season. The rookie class is already showing promise. Let’s rank the rookies by performance.
Ranking
Oliver Bearman
A
Kimi Antonelli
A
Isack Hadjar
B+
Gabriel Bortoleto
C
Liam Lawson
D-
Jack Doohan
F
Oliver Bearman
I have Bearman ranked as the highest-performing rookie so far this season. He gets the nod over Antonelli due to being at Haas. He was able to quickly recover from his dismal performance in Australia with two-point finishes. In Japan, he qualified tenth while his teammate was 18th. This car has been slow in all practice sessions, but Bearman finds time on Saturdays and Sundays. In his six-race career, he’s scored points in four.
Kimi Antonelli
Many believed it was a gamble to put the 18-year-old in a premium seat, but Mercedes’s gamble paid off. Antonelli is as good as advertised. While he did spin, he was the only rookie to not destroy a car in Australia. He’s a respectable 15 points below his veteran teammate, three races in. He also became the youngest driver to hold the fastest lap.
Isack Hadjar
Hadjar has been impressive this season. His formation lap crash in Australia was heartbreaking. That, along with Helmut Marko’s comments, could have easily destroyed his confidence. It didn’t, and the young driver has impressed since. He should have scored points in China, but the team messed up the strategy. In Japan, he wheeled his car to a seventh-place starting position and an eighth-place finish. The future is bright for Hadjar.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Bortoleto hasn’t done anything impressive, but hasn’t done anything egregiously bad either. This is Sauber’s last season in Formula One, and the plan for him is clear: He’s to learn and not tear up equipment. He’s done both so far, minus Australia.
Liam Lawson
Lawson has been dumped by Red Bull two races into the season. He wasn’t ready for this ride and never should’ve gotten it. He averaged a starting position of 19th in his three qualifying sessions with Red Bull. Unlike Bearman and Antonelli, Red Bull gave him no patience, and it showed. He gets a D- from me for our qualifying Tsunoda in Japan. He is in danger of being out of F1 after the season.
Jack Doohan
To say it’s been a disaster season for Doohan is an understatement. He has crashed the car in two out of three races and is fortunate not to have been injured in Japan. I don’t place this strictly on Doohan; what Alpine did to him was unjustifiable. It’s been reported that he’s only on a five-race deal. His replacement was signed to a five-year deal before the season began. This has forced him to push limits too far. Doohan will probably never get another chance in F1, but at least he made it to the show.
Image Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
