How Antonelli and Bortoleto impressed in their F1 debut races

In at the deep end - and it rained enough in Melbourne to fill that end of the pool. Formula 1's current batch of rookie drivers were truly dropped in it for their debuts (or near-debuts) as the rain lashed at southern Australia's coastline, rendering a circuit already difficult for newcomers to master an even more gruelling challenge. Painted lines, errant gravel, and Helmut Marko's antediluvian views on crying were all hazards that at least one of F1's less experienced drivers had to navigate.

Of the 'true' rookies yet to make a start before Australia, only one (Andrea Kimi Antonelli) survived to the flag; the second (Gabriel Bortoleto) was a mid-race retiree, and the third (Isack Hadjar) was out on the formation lap. You've got to feel for Hadjar, who had been otherwise impressive until that point with his run to 11th on the grid; in a sweet moment, Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony provided a supporting shoulder and a few bon mots to lift the Franco-Algerian's mood after the Turn 2 crash.