Max Verstappen holds the record for being F1’s youngest driver on debut. The 3-time champion was 17 years, 5 months, and 15 days when he took the wheel of the 2015 Toro Rosso. Teenage Max didn’t even have a regular driver’s license but took the pinnacle of motorsport by storm. Though his long-time peer and partner-in-“incident” Charles Leclerc didn’t show up to F1 that early, he has marked his presence comprehensively. The Monegasque’s historic 2024 Monaco GP victory this year has set the stage for him to achieve the only remaining goal on his bucket list – the prized world championship.

But it won’t come easy at all because the next generation of potential world champions is here. Unlike 2024, where the entire grid remained unchanged, 2025 will bring three new faces. Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, Jack Doohan at Alpine, and Oliver Bearman at Haas: the trio has nothing to lose but a point to prove when they line up on the grid next year. Let us start off with the man of the moment.

Jack Doohan promises Daniel Ricciardo-like magic for Alpine

On the eve of FP1 at the Dutch Grand Prix, Alpine announced the promotion of Jack Doohan, their reserve driver. After amazing performances that made him the F3 runner-up and F2’s second runner-up, the French team snatched him before anyone else could and finally promoted him as Esteban Ocon’s replacement for 2025 and beyond. After all, Oscar Piastri had left them red-faced in 2022, and they couldn’t let such history repeat itself.

Being the son of 5x MotoGP champ Mick Doohan, the Aussie could turn out as the next Daniel Ricciardo. Like our beloved Honey Badger, Doohan is already media-ready. Being an insider and a racer who knows what drivers and teams go through year-round, he was hired by F1TV as a presenter alongside the likes of Will Buxton and Laura Winter. Doohan has been a part of nearly every post-race show for F1TV.

On the racing side, like his compatriot, Ricciardo, Doohan also started off as a Red Bull junior driver. Incidentally, they both were at the Milton-Keynes outfit from 2017 to 2019, before the Honey Badger abandoned the Verstappen challenge and jumped ship to Renault while Doohan continued for 2 more years in the junior program. In 2021, as Ricciardo left Renault for McLaren, Doohan made a “no-brainer” switch to Renault, which was rebranded to Alpine that year.

However, unlike Ricciardo, Doohan has had a much better junior career in F3 and F2. With the Enstone outfit finally fulfilling his F1 dream, he has nowhere to go but up. But the presence of two more rookies on the grid will only increase the pressure to perform. This brings us to Ferrari’s future star.

Oliver Bearman – the next Charles Leclerc

Fate is a funny thing. At the Saudi Arabian GP this year, Carlos Sainz‘s swollen appendix paved the way for Oliver Bearman to stun the world. The Ferrari reserve driver’s F1 call-up came earlier than anticipated. Though there wasn’t a dream circumstance leading to it, the teenager welcomed it with open arms nonetheless. And boy, did he prove himself to bag the 2025 Haas seat alongside Esteban Ocon.

At 18 years, 10 months, and 1 day old, Bearman set Jeddah ablaze and muscled his way from P11 to P7, leaving 7x champ Lewis Hamilton in the dust. Yet, the Ferrari-bound Mercedes driver was the first to congratulate and embrace him and also endorse him for a full-time F1 seat for 2025. Charles Leclerc was equally blown away and echoed Hamilton in showering praise on Bearman, who became the third youngest driver to make his F1 debut after Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.

Lo and Behold! Haas put their faith in Ollie and he was announced as the first F1 rookie of 2025. Bearman’s junior career has been very impressive and boasts of two F4 championships (ADAC and Italian) and a second runner-up trophy in F3.

If we liken Bearman to Leclerc, his better-performing PREMA Racing teammate, Antonelli, becomes the Verstappen. Though the rookie duo’s relationship doesn’t date back to their karting days like Verstappen and Leclerc, they have seen a lifetime of friendship and rivalry in a shorter time. “We’ve always been following each other and stepping up around the same time,” Bearman told Sky Sports. “I’ve known Kimi for a long time, we raced each other a little bit in F4, a lot on the simulator, now we’re team-mates in F2. I hope for him that he will be in F1 as well because he deserves it.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – The Max Verstappen that Toto Wolff deserved

Doohan & Bearman’s contract announcements might have made waves, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s will cause shockwaves. For the 2025 Mercedes seat, the 17-year-old was up against the generational talent that he was likened to becoming in the future. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was desperately trying to lure Max Verstappen for the Lewis Hamilton-created vacancy. The Austrian didn’t want to miss his second shot at signing the reigning champ, having lost a 17-year-old Verstappen to Red Bull in 2014.

But because Red Bull has returned to stable waters after a turbulent patch, the Dutchman has decided to stay for 2025. This has nearly sealed Antonelli as Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes. In a hilarious turn of events, Wolff even accidentally confirmed his signing, which was otherwise set to be announced at the Italian GP, Antonelli’s home race. “The two drivers in our car next year have our full support. I want to make it work with George and Kimi,” he inadvertently said ahead of the Dutch GP.

Antonelli has been hailed the “best driver in an F3 car since Max Verstappen.” So, his replacing a 7-time champion in a victory-contender team is more than justifiable. Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner, who was very vocal about including younger drivers in F1, is also wholeheartedly backing him.

In 2025, with such rookies eyeing podiums and race wins, the competition will be unbelievable. Moreover, the grid will converge further and midfield teams like Aston Martin could be in the mix for more. Verstappen could still win the championship but it’ll get as close as 2021 controversially did. Between wheel-t0-wheel battles between racers from 3 generations and setting up for the 2026 regulations reset, teams are in for a wild ride.