FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Sao Paulo Grand Prix - Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil - November 3, 2024 Formula 2 Invicta's Gabriel Bortoleto signs autographs for fans after the race REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Sauber's signing of Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto means at least a fifth of the 20 driver Formula One grid will be starting a first full season in 2025 with a new wave of young talent coming up fast.
"We are currently witnessing a generational shift in Formula One, with young drivers immediately making an impact," said Sauber Motorsport chairman and Audi chief executive Gernot Dollner in a statement announcing Bortoleto's arrival.
Bortoleto, 20, will be lining up against fellow rookies Kimi Antonelli (18), Oliver Bearman (19) and Jack Doohan (21) who have secured seats at Mercedes, Haas and Renault-owned Alpine respectively.
Liam Lawson (22), a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo (35) at RB this season, looks set to get the nod for a full-time seat while Franco Colapinto (21) is another stand-in who has impressed for Williams.
If Sergio Perez (34) were to be dropped by Red Bull at the end of the year, despite the Mexican having a contract, then one could imagine a further shuffle with Colapinto securing a seat somewhere.
Red Bull also have French-Algerian F2 title contender Isack Hadjar (20) on their books.
The sport still has seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton (39), double champion Fernando Alonso (43) and Nico Hulkenberg (37) but they are now outliers rather than leaders of any longevity trend.
The graduation of Formula Two youngsters is a change from past years, when some F2 champions failed to secure seats, but does not surprise those who keep a close watch on the junior ranks.
The success of Ferrari academy product Bearman, Red Bull young driver Lawson and Colapinto -- all of whom have scored points this season as replacement race drivers -- has opened eyes and convinced those who might have had doubts.
GREAT FOR F1
"I know how great are those young drivers. I know Ollie very well because of my past experience and he was part of our driver academy and I knew that Ollie could do very well in F1," said Sauber boss and former Ferrari principal Mattia Binotto.
"I think yes, they are all doing very well and that's great. I think it's great for the sport, it's great for F1."
Bearman's debut when he stepped in at short notice for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia, after the Spaniard suffered appendicitis, was a special moment.
Colapinto's replacement of dropped American Logan Sargeant at Williams had a similar effect with the Argentine scoring points in two of his first four races.
Lawson has done so in two out of three this year and also in one of five appearances in 2023.
Formula Two has always been a proving ground for young talent but the surprising thing this time is that the drivers making the move up have not all been making headlines by winning.
Mercedes will replace Hamilton with Antonelli, who they rate exceptionally highly, but the Italian is currently only sixth in the F2 standings.
Colapinto is seventh and Bearman 15th, although both have missed races.
One important thing for most is that they already have close relationships with teams, coming through driver academy pipelines, and are trained and tested with a maturity beyond their years.
"I would say none of them have been a big surprise to me because they're all very talented," Alpine's new principal Oliver Oakes, himself a former Red Bull young driver who runs an F2 team and is still only 36, told Reuters recently.
"That grid, I dare say the top eight or the top 10 there, they are all strong drivers... I think also what it does show is just the strength in depth now across Formula Two and Formula Three."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
