Prediction for F1’s Best Rookie: Lawson Outshines De Vries, Sargeant!

The much-anticipated award for the best rookie in F1 is around the corner, and fans have their favorites. Among the three rookie drivers who have represented their teams in races are Lawson, Sargeant, and De Vries. So far, Lawson has undeniably been the standout performer, securing a 5:1 victory over his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the five races he stood in for Ricciardo, also scoring points for the team.

De Vries, on the other hand, has had the most disappointing season among all drivers. Not only was he significantly slower than his competitors in race pace, but his performance in qualifying and consistency were lacking as well. Frequent uncharacteristic errors led to his unceremonious ousting from Red Bull F1 mid-season.

Sargeant fared slightly better but still fell short. His mistakes were numerous, leaving him teetering between retention and dismissal. However, with an improved car performance towards the end of the season, Sargeant showed signs of recovery, securing a single point for the team and earning a chance to continue with them.

In comparison to Sargeant and De Vries, Lawson’s performance has been significantly superior. Besides his favorable head-to-head record against Tsunoda, Lawson demonstrated exceptional adaptability, quickly getting up to speed with the F1 car despite joining without any prior preparation – a situation that differed from De Vries and Sargeant’s regular driver roles. He displayed remarkable stability in races, committing minimal errors, and even progressed to Q3 at the Singapore Grand Prix, eliminating both Red Bull drivers, Verstappen and Perez.

Given these observations, Lawson’s claim to the title of best rookie this season seems uncontested, despite having contested the fewest number of races, just five, among all F1 drivers.