The 2025 season is characterized by the entry into Formula 1 of well- 6 rookies: some in top teams, others immediately confronted with great pressures and others with cars that do not allow them to express their potential. The first two races can already tell us a lot about the season they will face, with an eye on FantaF1.
Antonelli and Lawson: the rookies in the top teams
The debutants that fans and Fantamanagers had their eyes on more expectations they were definitely Kimi Antonelli e Liam Lawson.. If the Italian driver presented himself to the world of Formula 1 surprising everyone with theexceptional fourth place in Australia, for Lawson instead, in his first season as a "holder", he quickly transformed into a nightmare start to the season.
The Mercedes driver has been supported from the start by agreat car. Fourth in Australia, in a week-end where all rookies hit the wall at least once, and sixth in China, he certainly gave some satisfaction to the Fantamanagers who bet on him at the beginning of this season. Despite various misfortunes (damage to the car in qualifying in Australia and in the race in China) its steadiness distinguishes him among the rookies and can only give us hope for the future of FantaF1.
Completely different speech for the New Zealand driver: all the certainties based on the last two seasons are collapsed in a few sessions. Never even remotely close to his teammate Max Verstappen, in the first two races of the season never got past the Q1 hurdle: retired in Australia, finished last in China after an anonymous race. Despite the 19 Yaws required to get him (second most expensive rookie), he has a performance as a driver grid background.
Initial difficulties for Hadjar and Bearman
Isack Hadjar is definitely one of the surprises of this start of the season. The rookie born in 2004 has immediately shown great speed, not looking out of place in front of the much more experienced Yuki Tsunoda. But his debut was disastrous.: in Australia his race was over before it even started, hitting the wall on the formation lap. In China he didn't get any points, despite theexcellent seventh place in qualifying, due to wrong strategies at Racing Bulls. Strategies that had also influenced the Japanese driver's race in Australia.
In FantaF1 perspective Hadjar could be a great buy, given the cost of only 9 Yaw. With a little more luck and the right strategies the French driver will surely be able to get some satisfaction this year, just as he will be able to take them away from the Fantamanagers who will bet on him.
A similar story applies to Oliver Bearman. His start to the season has been difficult to say the least, also causing serious damage to his car in free practice and finishing far behind in the race. In China, however, he demonstrated his full potential finishing in eighth position, while Ocon, his teammate at Haas, even finished in fifth place. The situation of the young British rookie in terms of FantaF1 it's complicated: Haas initially seemed to be the last force in the championship. In Shanghai, however, thanks also to the disqualifications of the Ferrari drivers, it collected 14 points. Of these, 4 with Bearman who stood out for some nice overtaking at the end of the long straight. After the inaugural race in Melbourne, many Fantamanagers were certainly doubtful about his potential, but they were promptly proven wrong. Was China an exception?
FantaF1: Doohan and Bortoleto struggle
Jack Doohan's Rookie Season It's certainly not one of the simplest: in a few races he has to convince the French team, and in particular Flavio Briatore, to keep him on board. Aware of the fact that he has to show a lot right from the start, Doohan has often incurred penalties, probably due to the need to exceed the limit in order to remain in Formula 1. With 0 points to his name, his situation remains precarious, also because the Alpine does not seem to be particularly competitive.
The situation is also complicated for the winner of F2 in 2024. Gabriel Bortoleto has in fact struggled a lot in these two races, certainly disabled by a car that seemed unstable and very difficult to drive, putting even an experienced driver like Nico Hülkenberg in great difficulty. He crashed in the inaugural race and finished 14th in China, never in the points zone, the Brazilian driver is preparing to experience a very complicated rookie season, just as it will be difficult for him to get many points in FantaF1.
