#8 Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls
Hadjar’s F1 career began in the most embarrassing way possible - with a formation-lap shunt in Australia - but he spent the rest of the year making everyone forget it.
He didn't just survive his rookie season; he conquered it. While Lawson was busy finding himself, Hadjar was a metronome of consistency, failing to escape Q1 only twice all year.
Outscoring his more experienced teammate 51 to 38 while securing a Red Bull promotion for 2026 is the ultimate "mic drop." He’s the top-rated rookie for a reason: he’s fast, he’s steady, and he clearly doesn't let a little pre-race crash ruin his appetite.
He put the proof in the pudding in 2025 - but next season, Max Verstappen could be the one devouring it.
#7 Carlos Sainz - Williams
Sainz eventually found his groove, but the transition from a Ferrari front-runner to a Williams scrapper wasn’t exactly seamless.
He spent the first half of the year looking a bit like a tourist without a map, suffering from a mix of poor luck and clumsy execution. However, once the "smooth operator" recalibrated, the results were undeniable. Podiums in Azerbaijan and Qatar proved he hasn't lost his killer instinct.
By the time the curtain fell in Abu Dhabi, he had successfully asserted dominance over Albon, though he’ll surely be kicking himself for the slow start that kept him out of our top five.
