Antonelli, Bearman, Doohan: Meet the F1 stars of tomorrow

For Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old wonderkid who Mercedes have high hopes will be their version of Max Verstappen, it was the biggest of comedowns at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday. The scene was set, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza glistening in 35C sunshine, as the Italian prospect expected to replace Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows next year took to the track in first practice: his first session in Formula 1.
However, after just 10 minutes, Antonelli slid violently off the tarmac, across the gravel and smashed into the tyre barrier at the final corner, Parabolica. Toto Wolff, who has overlooked Carlos Sainz and other experienced drivers in pursuing an early promotion from F2 for the teenager, grimaced in the garage.
Immediately, a learning curve. Welcome to the big boys, Kimi.
After a season start in which no new drivers took to the 20-driver grid, 2025 is set to be altogether more radical. The sport is set to welcome three rookies and, in the form of Franco Colapinto, has a new rookie straight away at Monza this weekend. The Argentine has replaced the axed Logan Sargeant at Williams for the final nine races of the season, with his fiery shunt in Zandvoort last week deemed one crash too many by fed-up team principal James Vowles. However, with Sainz’s arrival next year, a permanent spot on the grid is not feasible.
In addition to Antonelli’s expected announcement over the weekend that he will be George Russell’s teammate at Mercedes next year, British teenager Ollie Bearman joins Ferrari-powered Haas in 2025 and Australian youngster Jack Doohan, with racing pedigree in his veins courtesy of motorcycling world champion father Mick, replaces Esteban Ocon at Alpine.
For all of them, it is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,” Bearman said upon signing his multi-year deal in July. “To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing that they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”
What is of most intrigue, however, is that it is very much a case of the right place at the right time for all of these drivers. Because if you take a glance at F2, previous champions and leading contenders are not among those who are taking the step up. Doohan’s best finish in F2 was third. Antonelli and Bearman are seventh and 15th respectively in this year’s standings and Colapinto is sixth.
As for 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich? Still loitering in the background as a reserve at Aston Martin. How about 2023 winner Theo Pourchaire? Stateside, racing in IndyCar. And 2024 leader Isack Hadjar? A back-up at Red Bull, with no opening on the grid in sight. Liam Lawson, who impressed filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at RB last year, is waiting in the wings for ’25.
Of course, Bearman sealed his spot with his terrific stand-in drive for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia in March, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the points. Doohan has impressed those at Alpine with his FP1 sessions over the last year or so. Antonelli, by all accounts, has been rapid in testing sessions in the 2021 and 2022 Mercedes car at tracks such as Silverstone, Imola and Spa.
It is an interesting balance to find – for teams in the F1 paddock as they weigh up junior drivers – between results in feeder series and times in the simulator and in testing stints. The last winner in F2 to make the step up, 2021 champion Oscar Piastri, is thriving with McLaren but the 2020 champion, Mick Schumacher, was two years and out at Haas and his route back into the sport looks tricky now as a Mercedes reserve. Nyck de Vries, the 2019 champion, was afforded 10 races by AlphaTauri last year before being given the boot.
For fans and observers of the sport, though, it adds a welcome layer of fascination heading into 2025 and beyond. The blooding of youngsters is crucial for the future of the sport and, frankly, the start of this season saw too many planks of deadwood throughout the grid. Fresh faces create fresh interest and the likes of Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu have had their chances over several years now.
However, as proven by Antonelli’s shock crash on Friday in the Monza sunshine – amid action on the track where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the two practice sessions – the road ahead will be full of obstacles. F1 is cutthroat and this new era of hotshots will find the journey ahead arduous. However, chucking them in at the deep end is the best way to learn. Will they sink or swim?
The Italian Grand Prix is on Sunday 1 September and the race begins at 2pm, coverage starts at 12.30pm on Sky Sports F1