The New Faces of Formula One
This year’s silly season has seen the inevitable fall of the Red Bull empire, the rise of McLaren, Lewis Hamilton seemingly not caring and still winning, and even Ferrari starting to figure things out again and yet the grid next year is shaping up to make all of this look like a picnic. Three fresh faces will join the grid for 2025, and they are all looking to not only make a name for themselves but also live up to lofty expectations. Kimi Antonelli is the most recent signing announcement coming just after the Italian Grand Prix as he joins Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement. Ollie Bearman joined Haas after impressing earlier in the season with Ferrari. Lastly, Jack Doohan joins Alpine replacing Esteban Ocon who made the move to Haas for next year.
Kimi Antonelli
The Italian is the youngest of the three new drivers at only 18 years old who races for Prema in Formula Two and has been a part of the Mercedes academy since 2019. Eyes have been on him since his karting days as he then went on to win the 2022 Italian Formula Four Championship, a Gold medal at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games, the 2023 Formula Regional European and Middle Eastern Championships now being a part of the Formula Two Championship in sixth overall. He impressed this past Italian Grand Prix as he took the W15 Mercedes for a spin both literally and figuratively as he crashed out of the practice round. He did, however, show just how fast he could be in a Formula One car before the crash as he was announced the next day to be the new driver for 2025. He drives with a smile on his face and seemingly no fear and will be very interesting next year when he gets the car for a whole season.
Ollie Bearman
Ollie made his splash into Formula One during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this season when he replaced Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari seat. Sainz had his appendix removed so the 19-year-old Brit got the call up from the Ferrari reserves to make his Formula One race debut. He qualified 11th and finished in seventh, impressing the likes of Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari team. He now is a Haas driver for next season who hopes to continue to impress and carry on his success from the years leading up to joining Formula One. He won the Italian Formula Four Championship and the ADAC Formula Four Championship in 2021 and has competed in Formula Three and Formula Two since then winning races but coming up short of a championship title.
Jack Doohan
Coming from racing blood in his dad Mick Doohan who was a five-time 500cc motorcycle World Champion and getting his first Kart from his neighbor and seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher it seems Jack was destined to race at the highest level. The Australian driver is currently a reserve driver for Alpine having made his free practice debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix then later setting the fourth fastest time for a rookie at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix free practice. In 2023, he came in third for the Formula Two Championship in his second year in the series as he continued testing for Alpine even having rumors circulate that he was close to replacing Pierre Gasly for this year if the Frenchman had left the team.
The three new confirmed drivers for next year look to be a breath of fresh air as the grid has been rearranged with stars moving all over the place. There is a special mention of Franco Colapinto who although won’t be a part of next year’s grid has taken Logan Sargent’s seat at Williams for the rest of the season. Colapinto made his debut for the team at the Italian Grand Prix where he finished 12th after starting the race in 18th. The Argentine may well find himself on the grid if he keeps up the pace as some teams still have open seats for next year.
