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10 Best Rookie Seasons In Formula One History 1r5n5p

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By
Kieran Lynch
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Kieran Lynch Sports Editor

Kieran Lynch is a sports writer specialising in football and Formula One. He is a sports journalism graduate of Leeds Trinity University and completed a Press Association NCTJ course in Newcastle. He previously worked as a news reporter for the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk and spent five years as a sports writer at the MailOnline.

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Published15 Apr 2025

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Formula One has six rookies on the 2025 grid, and here SportsCasting takes a look at the best rookie seasons in the sport’s history.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto made their debuts during the 2025 season after stepping up from Formula Two.

Jack Doohan made his debut in the final race of 2024. Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman made 11 and 3 appearances respectively before the 2025 season. Despite making their debuts before 2025, the trio are all still classed as rookies.

Antonelli and Hadjar after already made impressive starts to the 2025 season, while Lawson has struggled after being demoted by Red Bull to Racing Bulls after just two races.

Below, we look at the 10 best rookie seasons in Formula One history.

The 10 Best Rookie Seasons In Formula One History 2s2p4g

10. Max Verstappen – 2015 1e493h

Championship standing – 12th, 49 points, best finish – 4th in Hungary and United States

Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to start a Formula One race at 17 years and 166 days at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

He was on for a points finish until he was forced to retire with an engine failure. However, in his second race, he qualified sixth and finished seventh in the Torro Rosso.

His aggressive driving style was criticised and this did lead to a few crashes, but he was a consistent points scorer in the second-half of the season.

The highlights of his season were fourth-place finishes in Hungary and the United States.

He finished 12th in the championship with 49 points – 31 ahead of fellow rookie teammate Carlos Sainz.

9. Kimi Raikkonen – 2001 2j6g1h

Championship standing – 10th, 9 points (66 under current points system), best finish – 4th in Austria and Canada

There were concerns over Kimi Raikkonen entering Formula One in 2001. He was still a relatively inexperienced driver with just 23 car races to his name in lower categories.

However, he was granted a license from the FIA and immediately showed his speed by scoring a point in his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen showed maturity beyond his number of races before entering Formula One. He finished in the top-10 in every race he finished, with fourth-place finishes in Austria and Canada.

He finished 10th in the championship with nine points. However, under the current points format he would have finished the season with 66 points.

His performances led to him replacing double world champion Mika Hakkinen at McLaren for the 2002 season.

8. Heikki Kovalainen – 2007 2y656s

Championship standing – 7th, 30 points (87 under current points system), best finish – 2nd in Japan

Heikki Kovalainen didn’t go on to have the career that others on this list did. However, he produced one of the top 10 rookie seasons in Formula One history.

He replaced Fernando Alonso at Renault in 2007, after the Spaniard had won the championship in 2005 and 2006.

Renault no longer had a title-challenging car but Kovalainen was a consistent points scorer. He finished seventh in the championship with 30 points and ahead of his experienced teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

His best performance came in torrential conditions at the Japanese Grand Prix. While other drivers were falling off track, Kovalainen managed to keep his car on the road and finished second.

Kovalainen’s performances were enough to persuade McLaren to bring him in as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement in 2008.

Heikki Kovalainen impressed at Renault in his rookie season with one podium in Japan

7. James Hunt – 1973 1oi60

Championship standing – 8th, 14 points (61 under current system), best finish – 2nd in the United States, two podiums

James Hunt made his debut with the new Hesketh team in 1973, driving eight out of the 15 races that season.

The driver and team made an immediate impact with Hunt going on to finish eighth in the championship.

Hunt finished just 0.4 seconds off the podium at just his third race at the British Grand Prix.

However, he did go on to take two podiums during the 1973 season. He finished third in Austria and second in the United States – just 0.6 seconds off race-winner Ronnie Peterson.

James Hunt (right) finished on the podium twice in 1973

6. Juan Pablo Montoya – 2001 s3i5i

Championship standing – 6th, 31 points (95 under current points system), best finish – 1st in Italy, one win, three pole positions and four podiums

Reliability and crashes plagued Juan Pablo Montoya’s rookie season as he failed to finish in 11 out of the 17 races.

However, his performances in the Williams in 2001 were electric and made him look like a future champion.

In just his second race he aggressively divebombed Michael Schumacher to take the lead at the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was an audacious move that showed what type of character he was and he would have gone on to win if he wasn’t taken out by a backmarker – Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.

Montoya only finished two of the opening nine races – second-place finishes in Spain and at the Nurburgring.

An engine failure cost him victory in but he took a brilliant win in Italy, before picking up another second-place finish in Japan.

5. Clay Regazzoni – 1970 b683c

Championship standing – 3rd, 33 points (103 points under current system), best finish – 1st in Italy, one win, one pole position and four podiums

Clay Regazzoni missed five races in his rookie season but still managed to finish third in the drivers’ championship.

Driving for Ferrari, he finished fourth on his debut in the Netherlands and took P4 in his second race at Silverstone.

He found his top form over the last five races with four podiums – three of which were second-place finishes.

The other was his first victory for Ferrari at their home race at the Italian Grand Prix.

Given that he missed five races, it was impressive he finished just seven points off teammate Jacky Ickx in the standings.

4. Jackie Stewart – 1965 70405t

Championship standing – 3rd, 33 points (112 under current system), best finish – 1st in Italy, one win, five podiums

Racing for BRM, Jackie Stewart enjoyed a tremendous rookie season in Formula One.

The Scotsman finished third in the drivers’ championship behind countryman Jim Clark and Graham Hill.

He took the first victory of his career in his eighth race at the Italian Grand Prix.

That victory went along with four other podium finishes as he finished ‘best of the rest’ behind the all-conquering Lotus cars.

It cemented his place as a top driver and he would go on to win three drivers’ championships.

Jackie Stewart enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in F1 history. Credit: Z105space, CCO, via Wikimedia Commons

3. Ayrton Senna – 1984 2r1k28

Championship standing – 9th, 13 points (70 under current system), best finish – 2nd in Monaco, three podiums

Ayrton Senna’s ninth place in the championship might not seem that impressive at first glance.

However, his performances for Toleman – who many expected to be a back-marker team earns him a high spot on this list.

Senna managed to notch up three podiums in his rookie season, the most impressive of which was in Monaco.

The Brazilian started the race in 13th but made steady progress up to second in the rain.

He had been catching leader Alain Prost by four seconds a lap before the race was stopped for safety reasons.

2. Jacques Villeneuve – 1996 302m5m

Championship standing – 2nd, 78 points (226 under current system), best finish – 1st, four wins, three pole positions and 11 podiums

Jacques Villeneuve competed for the 1996 drivers’ championship alongside Williams teammate Damon Hill.

The Canadian was on to win his very first race until he was ordered to concede the position after suffering an oil leak.

His first win came in his fourth race at the European Grand Prix and he showed great consistency with 11 podiums in 16 races.

Villeneuve added victories at Silverstone, Hungary and Portugal to take the title fight to the last race in Japan.

Though he failed to win the title, he would go on to do so in his sophomore season in Formula One after the controversial collision with Michael Schumacher in Jerez.

Jacques Villeneuve finished second in the 1996 championship. Credit: Legends Of Motorsport via Wikimedia Commons

1. Lewis Hamilton – 2007 5f5k4c

Championship standing – 2nd, 109 points (265 under current system), best finish – 1st, four wins, six pole positions and 12 podiums

Lewis Hamilton was promoted to Formula One for the 2007 season to partner double world champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren.

He made an instant impact by finishing on the podium in his first race. Even then, few would have expected what was to come.

Hamilton mounted a shock title challenge and recorded the most consecutive top-three finishes in a debut season by finishing on the podium in his first nine races.

He took victories in Canada, United States and Hungary but his most impressive win was in the rain at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton looked destined to win the championship. However, he beached himself in the gravel of the pit lane in China and only finished seventh at the Brazilian Grand Prix after a poor start and a gearbox issue in the opening laps.

He lost the championship by just one point to Kimi Raikkonen, but much like Villeneuve, he would go on to win the title in his second year.

Hamilton finishes ahead of Villeneueve in our list for the best Formula One rookie seasons due to the quality of his wins and finishing ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso – albeit, level on points.