Verstappen welcomes rookie drivers

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen hopes that more youngsters can show their talent in Formula One after recent young drivers showed utterly impressive performances.

Although the 2024 F1 season kicked off without any rookie drivers joining the F1 field, Logan Sargeant's struggles prompted Williams to replace the American driver with rookie racer Franco Colapinto at the Italian Grand Prix.

However, next season will see three rookie drivers join the field. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will make his debut next year to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton while Jack Doohan will join Alpine to take over Esteban Ocon's seat as the Frenchman switches to Haas in 2025.

Although Oliver Bearman completed a race with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and with Haas in Azerbaijan, he will join the field as a full-time F1 race driver next year, having signed a deal with Haas.

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen praised Bearman's and Colapinto's performances, claiming that both rookie drivers showed an impressive performance immediately.

"It's always a difficult one. Sometimes you want to go for experience or when a team had a bad experience in the past… But yeah, I'm impressed. They're doing a good job when they jump in. You can see they're well prepared.

"And yeah, they're just doing a great job. So it's nice to see that from rookies. And hopefully that just opens it up a bit more for future talent to come into the sport."

While teams often elect to keep experienced drivers onboard, Verstappen suggested that recent performances from rookie drivers have shown that young drivers might be a better choice.

"Naturally, I think, of course, you need your experienced drivers and stuff, but also opportunities for rookies. And, yeah, it looks like now, finally, that is, again, you know, happening a little bit. So that's great," the Dutchman concluded.