Valtteri Bottas has insisted the trend that has seen teams prioritise up-and-coming drivers over their established counterparts in Formula 1 could “change again”.
The previous campaign marked the first time ever in the sport that there had been an unchanged driver roster between two seasons, but that has changed in 2025 as Lewis Hamilton’s decision to go to Ferrari has triggered extensive change on the grid.
But while Ferrari has opted to sign Hamilton, now 40, to bolster the team’s title pursuit, Mercedes has replaced the seven-time F1 champion with protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is among five rookies in 2025.
Alongside Antonelli, Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan, both of whom made their F1 debuts in 2024, have landed permanent drives, while Gabriel Bortolero will race with Sauber and Isack Hadjar with Racing Bulls.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes the instant impression that Bearman made when he replaced the unwell Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and scored points with limited practice, plus Franco Colapinto’s mid-season emergence at Williams, has given teams encouragement that young drivers can now step up and deliver from the outset.
“There will be new regulations in 2026,” Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport. “The teams want to prepare for this. That’s why they prefer to train the rookies next year.
“I think one of the triggers was Oliver Bearman’s debut at Ferrari. He gets into the car unprepared, has a free practice session and drives up front.
“Then Colapinto also hit the ground running. Suddenly everyone realised that the youngsters were starting at a high level.”
Bottas adamant focus on youth could reverse
Bottas has reunited with Mercedes as a reserve driver having lost his previous seat with Sauber to Bortoleto, the ex-McLaren Junior who won the Formula 2 title in 2024 and has been chosen to partner veteran Nico Hulkenberg in a revamped driver line-up.
But while he has acknowledged that a generational change has occurred, Bottas, who harbours an ambition to return in 2026, has asserted that teams could lean towards experience again depending on how drivers like Bortoleto fare in the upcoming season.
“There is a bit of a trend now for the rookies and newcomers,” Bottas told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview. “But I think next year we’ll also see how well all of them are going to be doing. And then again the trend can change again.
“At the moment there’s more preferred opinions for the rookies than experience. But that can always change. It doesn’t seem to change how they view experience.”
Verstappen’s impact on the driver market
Max Verstappen changed the perception attached to rookies when he burst onto the scene at 17 in 2015 and impressed with his raw pace and swashbuckling driving style.
Wolff has expressed that he was relieved when Hamilton opted to depart Mercedes on his own accord as it ensured that he wouldn’t lose Antonelli to a rival team as he did with Verstappen to Red Bull when the two rivals contested his coveted signature in 2014.
When it was put to him that there’s a rush amongst the teams to acquire the next big thing, Bottas responded: “Yeah, I would say so. I think it’s a bit more trendy now to go for the young guns.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Only time will tell.”
READ MORE – Exclusive: Valtteri Bottas to ‘look elsewhere’ should 2026 F1 return not materialise
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