Lewis Hamilton reveals 20-year-old F1 rookie as favorite amongst the new crop of talent in the sport

A myriad of rookies have made their way onto the F1 grid in 2025, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has had time to analyze the younglings' performances. When asked about his favorite pick from the catalogue of rookies, he picked out Racing Bulls driver, Isack Hadjar.

The 20-year-old's drive in the F1 realm was not confirmed until after the conclusion of the 2024 season. Hadjar has finished his F2 campaign as the vice-champion, and Liam Lawson's initial jump to Red Bull earned him a seat on the grid.

While the Frenchman's debut race weekend ended with a DNS as he crashed out on the formation lap, he has improved his results in the coming race weekends. His two finishes in the top-10 have helped the Faenza-based squad amass five more points in the constructors' standings.

With the rookie contingency already looking feisty, as Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman have also scored points, when the question of picking his favorite rookie driver was raised, Lewis Hamilton picked Isack Hadjar, and said (via The Athletic):

"Naturally, Kimi (Antonelli). (Oliver) Bearman. Isack Hadjar is probably my favorite, he’s really cool."

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Isack Hadjar has been fond of Lewis Hamilton's work throughout his junior career

Isack Hadjar (L) and Lewis Hamilton (R) at the F1 Grand Prix Of China - Source: Getty

The feeling of respect is mutual between Hamilton and Hadjar. While the 40-year-old picked out the RB driver as his favorite of the rookie contingent, the Frenchman has been public about his likeness to the Ferrari driver in recent times.

Hadjar had earlier revealed that the seven-time champion was his idol in the F1 realm. Moreover, his positive fleet of statements on Lewis Hamilton has not stopped, as he deemed the Briton as the "main character" and said (via Red Bull):

"Lewis is like the main character in a TV show I watched growing up. He’s unreachable.”

He has also referred to the seven-time champion and his father, Anthony Hamilton, as classy guys, when Anthony consoled him after Hadjar had crashed at the formation lap in Australia, as he said (via Formula 1):

"He said it reminded him of Lewis parking the car in the pit entry in Shanghai. It was a nice moment, sharing time with someone like Anthony, the dad of my idol. It was quite a special moment. Lewis sent me a message later that day, so they’re really classy guys.”

Meanwhile, the pair have been on different ends of the F1 grid. While the Ferrari driver has had the upper hand due to having a faster car over a lap, the Frenchman has often maximized the potential of his VCARB 02.

Isack Hadjar now partners Liam Lawson at the Racing Bulls outfit as the New Zealander was swapped for Yuki Tsunoda after the first two rounds of the season.