F1 has a packed rookie class in 2025, with drivers embarking on their first season in various differing situations across the paddock.
From Kimi Antonelli at podium-contending Mercedes down to Gabriel Bortoleto at last year's only real backmarker, Stake, of the 21 drivers who have thus far raced in F1 this campaign, seven of them could be considered 'true' rookies.
That is a striking one-third of the entire grid, with Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto pushing the number past the conventional 20 drivers due to their swap at Alpine.
Liam Lawson and the Argentine make for interesting cases, as their rookie status has proven a divisive point.
This season is the first year in which the former has started the campaign in a full-time seat, but conversely, the latter could hardly be considered a rookie next season if he completes the rest of the year and keeps his drive over the winter; it is not an exact science, it seems.
Even Ollie Bearman completed three grands prix - for Ferrari and Haas - last term, so is it certainly a grey area.
However, those seven drivers, in the formative years of their F1 careers, are under intense scrutiny to perform and establish themselves or risk getting jettisoned out of their seat - as we have already seen over the opening nine rounds.
The picture is further clouded by the fact they are almost all fighting in unequal machinery. For example, if Antonelli was turning in the same results as Bortoleto, he would be serious trouble at Mercedes.
In contrast, if the Brazilian was consistently turning in points-scoring results, he would be quickly attracting the attention of the top teams.
Isack Hadjar has turned his tears from Melbourne into an undeniably strong rookie season, whilst Antonelli has shown why he is considered by many to be a generational talent.
Bortoleto and Bearman have show sparks, and Lawson is starting to recover to the level that saw Red Bull take a gamble on him over the winter.
Doohan and Colapinto, meanwhile, have struggled for Alpine - and there is no guarantee either is in the second seat for the Enstone squad come the end of the year.
Which rookie do you think has performed the best so far this season? Let us know by commenting and by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365.
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