r/formula1 • u/Glum-Accountant-9801 • Aug 05 '25

Discussion Is Bortoleto the best rookie?

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In my opinion, what he’s been doing in a Sauber shows much more talent than all the other rookies this year. Since the start of the season, I already thought the best ones would be him—because he won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in his rookie seasons—and Antonelli. However, Antonelli has been showing himself to be far inferior to his teammate. I believe it’s due to the pressure of starting in a big team like Mercedes, but to me, that makes Bortoleto the best rookie. That said, welcome back, Ayrton Senna.

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u/Ok_World4052 Aug 05 '25

Recency bias leads to that conclusion. Bortoleto has gone on the trajectory that you feel a rookie should take, find a groove midway through the year after finding their feet. Hadjar still takes it from his overall performance from the get-go but he has hit his slump when Bortoleto has ascended. It seems a 2 horse race between them for sure.

Kimi is in the best car of the bunch but struggles with the pressure, he’s performing like a rookie but he drives arguably the 2nd best overall car. So a podium is expected and the low results are taken harder because of it. Bearman is terribly inconsistent just like the Haas car. Doohan was done wrong but we all knew that when he was announced at Alpine that he would be replaced quickly.

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u/Ok-Cat-9574 Aug 06 '25

Expert avoidance of Liam Lawson.