The rookies of the Formula One season

After profiling Valtteri Bottas, Graham Caygill looks at the four other rookies in F1 this season.

Esteban Gutierrez leads F1 rookies with six points. Tom Gandolfini / AFP

Valtteri Bottas is not the only rookie in F1 this season. Here is a look at the four others and how they have done:

Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 6 points

The Mexican had a difficult first half of the season as Sauber struggled. He was out-qualified by teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the first 12 races of the season. He set the fastest lap of the race in Spain in May and scored his first points in F1 at Japan by finishing seventh.

Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) 0 points

After struggling against more-experienced teammate Charles Pic in the first half of the season, the Dutchman has found his pace and has been in the faster Caterham in recent races despite having no chance of scoring points. Highlight was qualifying 14th at Belgium in wet conditions.

Jules Bianchi (Marussia)

0 points

Made an immediate impact in Australia by running with midfield cars for a period. While his pace has fallen away due to Marussia’s lack of development, he has consistently out-run his teammate Max Chilton.

Max Chilton (Marussia)

0 points

The Briton has made few mistakes but has been unfortunate to be up against the highly talented Bianchi in the other car in his garage. A strong qualifying display in Japan, where he was 18th, demonstrated the speed is there. Further improvement should come – if he is on the grid next year.