In a season filled with rookies, the points have been hard to come by as a whole. It can be tough to judge raw performance, with the development of the car being a driver of how many headlines the new F1 drivers are grabbing. We are one-third of the way through the 2025 campaign, so now is a good time to check in and see — which rookie is top dog so far, and who is failing to make a mark.
6. Liam Lawson
He's finally got points on the board, but it took a ridiculous strategy that the pathetic Monaco racing and ridiculous new pit stop strategy brought on.
It seems that Lawson is still recovering from his mortifying start to the season where he was sacked from Red Bull after two races. Ultimately, being at Racing Bulls should give him better chances to race and put up decent points.
But now, he has a teammate who is outpacing him easily. He hasn't beat Isack Hadjar once this season in the grand prix, and has only out-qualified him once.
Though he's in last on these rankings, I still think his ceiling is higher than some on here. But if he continues to falter, I'm not sure he will still be in F1 in 2026.
5. Franco Colapinto
There's only a two-race sample to take from here, so it might be a bit unfair ... but so was Alpine's sacking of Jack Doohan.
Yes, Colapinto wasn't afford time to test in the car and had to jump in right away ... but we've seen some drivers find speed from the start too.
Colapinto has found himself a handful of tenths off the pace in Q1 and in practice sessions. And at Imola, he got through Q1, but in part because his own crash. Crashing - the thing he did a lot of at Williams last year.
Funny enough, Colapinto is another case, like Lawson, of a ceiling above some others. But it hasn't been a thrilling start.
4. Gabriel Bortoleto
It almost seems incorrect that Gabriel Bortoleto is ahead of two drivers with no points on the board. But it says a bit more about the drivers under him than anything.
Colapinto has only finished above 18th twice this season. But you do have to remember that this is the worst car on the grid at Sauber. They only have points on the board because of the wet chaos in Melbourne.
Bortoleto outqualified teammate Nico Hulkenberg in Australia but wouldn't finish the race. He was just a few milliseconds behind Hulkenberg in Japan, just a tenth in Bahrain, outran him in Miami and Imola, and was just 31 milliseconds off his Q1 quali time in Monaco.
Bortoleto isn't producing any headlines, but he is doing an acceptable job against his vastly more experienced teammate.
3. Ollie Bearman
Bearman has been good for a few "wow, this kid is talented" performances across his time in F1.
The young Brit stands at 3-5 in his race head-to-head with his respected teammate Esteban Ocon, but has only beating him once in qualifying so far.
Bearman nabbed points in three races in a row in China, Japan and Bahrain, but has disappeared since then. During that stretch, Bearman put on a overtaking masterclass in Shanghai and impressed the paddock over and over.
But the Haas hasn't been an incredible machine over the four races since, where Ocon himself only managed points in the off-kilter Monaco race last week.
Though he sits 14 points off his teammate, Bearman can feel happy with how he has performed so far.
2. Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli is the only rookie with a car that could possibly win on pure pace at some point this season, so sometimes putting that in context is hard against the others.
The Italian has 48 points so far, and has a sprint pole in the bag. His best finish in a grand prix was fourth in Melbourne. He clearly can pull speed at an impressive level. His last two races were pointless, but Imola was not his fault ... Monaco, well yes after a poor quali.
How much weight do you give to the fact Antonelli hasn't beat George Russell in a single grand prix yet and in one qualifying? Meaning in all sessions combined, Russell is up 18-2. Do you pin it to Russell being an underrated star? Or that Antonelli has a ways to go?
We've seen both sides of the coin from Antonelli, and the future could be very bright, but there's room to improve. But hey, we're currently seeing Oscar Piastri fully break out in year three, it takes time.
1. Isack Hadjar
Who would've thought we'd be here after Hadjar didn't even start his debut F1 race after a crash on the formation lap?
Since then, Hadjar has finished 11th or better in all but one race, has posted 15 points and has qualified 7th or better three times, including a stunning P5 in Monaco.
He has completed outclassed Lawson. Across all qualifyings, races and a sprint, Hadjar is up 13-1. He's quietly put himself to be the next in line to try his hand at the big boy Red Bull team ... but do you really want that these days?
Maybe in 2026, the car won't be a disaster for anyone not named Max Verstappen. Maybe.