Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Jack Doohan (Alpine), Isack Hadjar
(VCARB), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).
The 2026 season welcomed some new rookies into the world of Formula One. 5 additions were added to 5 of the official teams at the start of the year.
Throughout 3 Grand Prixs that we’ve had so far, the rookies have gone through many ups and downs. From DNFs to setting new records, the rookies this season are storming the competitions.
In this blog, we will discuss the 5 rookies and some successes of this seasons candidates. We will also go over Liam Lawson, who recently faced failures in his F1 start.
Bortoleto
He made an interesting start to his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix. His launch into Q2, where he outqualified his Sauber teammate Nico Hulkenburg showed speed- also passing two of his rookie counterparts Antonelli and Lawson.
At the Japanese GP, he reached P14 in the actual race, and he outqualified Tsunoda and Hulkenburg once again. Despite his lower position, his skill has been actively demonstrated through races.
Most recently, he performed an impressive save, which the Formula One Instagram posted.
Update
In the recent Spanish race week, Bortoleto achieved his best result of the season. He finished 12th overall and is slowly climbing up the ranks. Many are saying that at some point during the forthcoming races, he is going to get into the top 10. Although he is yet to gain any points, many fans are confident this will change.
Bearman
His debut placed him P14 in the Australian GP – a strong start to the season. This then accelerated his driving and rankings into the upcoming races.
He got his first points in the second GP of the 2026 season when he ranked P8 due to the disqualification of Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc. This ranking gained him 4 points and put his team up; the team rankings specifically.
He qualified in the most recent race in Japan also – getting into P10 and on the leader board. His lightening quick reflexes gained him and his team 1 point. He outqualified 10 people from 7 different teams. Similar to Bortoleto despite his actual position, with an immense amounts of skill demonstrated in his first 3 races.
Also, in the most recent power rankings, he was put at 3rd place by the judges and overall sits at 8th place- going up 6 spots. This demonstrates intense skill from the young rookie.
Update
Since his last points were scored in the Bahrain Grand Prix, he has not managed to score another. Despite this, many in the f1 world are hopeful that this is going to change in the forthcoming races.
Doohan
Doohan has his fair share of issues with his Alpine car, yet he gets strikingly close to placing over P10. In China, he placed P13 after not finishing the Australian GP race. This is a huge improvement overall for Jack Doohan.
Unfortunately, due to a crash he didn’t participate in the Japanese GP circuit, but Alpine has confirmed he is okay. Despite only participating in, and finishing in 1 out of 3 races, he showed skill and speed.
Update
Doohan was replaced in the Alpine team by Franco Colapinto. Colapinto is currently on a 5 race contract with Alpine. However, Colapinto is also yet to score a point during this time.
Hadjar
In the Chinese Grand Prix, he made a strong start to his racing career with the Racing Bulls. He placed P11- barely missing out on placing P10.
After a rocky start in Australia, this is exactly what Hadjar needed to boost his debut. On the 6th of April, he gained his first points after placing P8. During the race, he felt extreme discomfort with his car’s seatbelt, yet still gained 4 points for both himself and VCARB.
In the Suzuka Grand Prix, he performed remarkably well also. He placed P3 and then P10, setting him up for a great race day.
Update
Hadjar is doing amazingly well so far. In the most recent race, he placed 7th place and garnered 6 points. This is a massive achievement for him as well as Racing Bulls. The team is sat at 6th place and Isack is 9th with 21 points. Throughout the whole triple header weeks, he scored points in every race. In the Italian GP, he was 9th. Then in the Monaco GP, he ranked 5th. Once again, this highly impressive for both Hadjar and VCARB.
Antonelli
His debut with Mercedes was extraordinary. In the Australian GP, he got up to P4 and earned himself and his team a massive 12 points. In this race, he outqualified both Ferraris and a McLaren. This is a massive
achievement for an accomplished driver – imagine this for a rookie.
In the Chinese GP, he ranked an equally impressive P6. This secured him another 8 points and impressive experience.
Most recently, he placed P6 again in Japan. With this GP race he was even more impressive as he set three records in total. He became the youngest ever race leader, set the fastest ever racing lap at Suzuka and
became the youngest driver to set a lap. In addition to this he placed top 6 making for very impressive set of accomplishments.
Update
Unfortunately, despite his strong start Mercedes is experiencing some technical difficulties. This means that Antonelli has crashed out in 2 out of 3 of the most recent races. However, many are hopeful that Kimi will make a comeback in the forthcoming races.
Lawson Update
Lawson’s start was rocky. In Red Bull racing and after two races in Australia and China, he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.
In Japan he came back to his previous team VCARB and since this some improvements have been made. His skill and lap times have massively changed.
At the Practice 2 for Japan, Lawson placed P5 and outqualified Tsunoda and even Max Verstappen. Then at the 3rd practice he earned P12.
Although consistency may falter for Liam, a massive improvement has been obvious. From P20 in China and Australia to P13 in the Japanese actual race – Lawson is on track for success with Red Bull Racing’s sister team!
What Can We Expect Now?
We can expect to see the rookies to be still performing highly and as best as they can. Who will come out on top and will it be a rookie? Only time will tell and we will find out in the final Grand Prix in Qatar.
Let us know what you think below and read our other blogs now!