A- to Anonymous: Grading the five F1 rookies after five races

The chequered flag has fallen on the first five grands prix of the F1 season, which has seen the injection of a fresh batch of rookies.

One quarter of the grid features rookie drivers who are taking part in their first full seasons.

Although Liam Lawson is also embarking on his full maiden campaign, the New Zealander had 11 grand prix entries to his name before the season-opening round in Australia and is therefore overqualified to be considered for the list below.

Who has impressed in the opening rounds and who has work to do to improve in the upcoming events?

See RacingNews365's grading of the F1 rookies in the opening phase of the campaign below!

Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli arrived on the F1 grid having rapidly ascended up the junior formulae with the support of Mercedes.

His promotion to F1 came sooner than Mercedes likely would have liked in an ideal scenario, but with the end of an era through Lewis Hamilton's departure, it signalled the opportunity to begin a new one with Antonelli.

There was a steep learning curve for the 18-year-old despite his extensive preparation in older F1 machinery, which fails to capture the pressure that comes with a race weekend.

While he has consistently been out-performed by team-mate George Russell, there was no expectation for Antonelli to beat his more experienced peer. Crucially, Antonelli has shown impressive growth weekend-to-weekend by consistently narrowing the qualifying deficit to Russell.

He has brought home 38 points in the opening rounds and set two F1 records - the youngest driver to lead a race and the youngest to set the fastest race lap.

It's a very solid start to life at Mercedes for the 18-year-old, given his special circumstances.

RacingNews365 grade: A-

Isack Hadjar

Hadjar's opening round heartbreak in Australia, where he crashed on the formation lap just moments before his first F1 race start, created the potential to severely derail his confidence.

However, the Frenchman has responded brilliantly to the setback and has gone on to be a consistent threat in qualifying and a regular contender for points.

Competing amidst the high pressure of the Red Bull driver system which has already produced a shock in-season transfer, Hadjar starred to back-to-back seventh place qualifying results in China and Japan.

With five points to his name in as many rounds, Hadjar is quickly justifying Red Bull's call to fit him in its sister squad.

As he continues to learn the ropes of F1, Hadjar will no doubt have greater aspirations than simply fighting for points. With uncertainty over Red Bull's future line-up, Hadjar may have found himself in the right place at the right time.

RacingNews365 grade: A-

Oliver Bearman

Bearman has had ample time to get himself embedded within the Haas team, having spent the 2024 campaign as its reserve driver.

Haas looked to be in significant trouble at the start of the year, but successful development has brought the team back into play, with Bearman largely making the most of the steps forward.

The performance swing between Ocon and Bearman has deviated quite substantially across the first five rounds, but the latter has at least proven to be consistent in the races.

An eighth place in China was a healthy way to bounce back from the disappointment in Australia, before adding to his tally in Japan and Bahrain with two runs to 10th place.

Bearman has lived up to the expectations based on his form as a substitute last year and will be a key midfield contender as the season progresses.

RacingNews365 grade: B

Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto's big F1 break came in very deserving circumstances, as back-to-back rookie titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2 placed him in exclusive company.

However, as was expected to be the case, Bortoleto has been somewhat hidden towards the back of the field, with Stake lacking the speed to consistently compete in the midfield pack.

His record has been respectable against veteran F1 team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, with the latter having the edge through the opening rounds.

Bortoleto has largely been anonymous through no fault of his own but is already locked in for an Audi drive next year when more noise will be made about the team.

It's been a solid, but somewhat tame start to life in F1 for Bortoleto.

RacingNews365 grade: C

Jack Doohan

Doohan was placed in a rather unique situation ahead of the season-opening round as questions over his future were raised before he even took part in the curtain-raiser following Alpine's signing of Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver.

It was theorised that Doohan would have just five races at Alpine before being sidelined in favour of Colapinto, but that has not proven to be the case as of yet.

Doohan has struggled for form alongside team-mate Pierre Gasly and has been outqualified in every qualifying session with significant gaps seen in Australia, Japan and China.

Big crashes in Australia and Japan have also not helped his cause.

Doohan does still appear to be on borrowed time, and if his performances do not improve rapidly, he could find himself on the sidelines sooner rather than later.

RacingNews365 grade: D