How to star as a Formula 1 rookie

This year's rookies will be seeking to make an impression in F1, but what key traits should they prioritise? An expert panel including Juan Pablo Montoya and Jackie Stewart explains why outright speed isn't as important as you might expect

James Newbold Feb 26, 2019, 11:13 AM

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After a stellar first season in Formula 1, Charles Leclerc earned a promotion to Ferrari, setting an example for all F1 rookies to follow.

The 2019 grid is set to feature the most exciting rookie crop since the man Leclerc replaced at Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen, was joined by Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2001.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award.

He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual, niche or random, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars as Autosport's British GT correspondent and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

An expert in catching 40 winks on media centre floors, he lives with his wife and son in Plymouth, England.