AFP Sport seems to be at 5 younger pretenders to regulate over the subsequent 12 months:
The 19-year-old, who will race alongside Esteban Ocon at Haas, is just not going to win the 2025 System One title however this would be the season when the younger Briton lays down a marker for years to return.
A graduate of the Ferrari driver academy, Bearman made his F1 debut as a late substitute for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Driving a mature race, he completed seventh, upsetting pleasure over one other younger expertise becoming a member of the grid.
“I all the time really feel like I am at dwelling once I get in an F1 automotive, which is sweet. And each time I get in an F1 automotive, I really feel an increasing number of at dwelling. It is a good feeling,” he stated.
Athletics – Sembo Almayew
Ethiopia has a wealth of center and long-distance runners however 19-year-old Almayew is a star within the making.
In some methods she has already arrived: on the Paris Olympics she was outshone by one other teenager, 20-year-old Kenyan Religion Cherotich, however nonetheless completed fifth within the 3000m steeplechase.
She then went on to win gold within the U20 World Athletics Championships in Lima in a brand new championship file.
That resulted in her successful the World Athletics Rising Star for 2024 awards.
The one fly within the ointment has been the visa issues that Ethiopians at present have with the EU which resulted in Almayew being denied the prospect to compete on the Diamond League Finals in September.
Hopefully, she’s going to be capable to clear the visa hurdle subsequent yr because the World Athletics Championships are in Tokyo.
Tennis – Mirra Andreeva
The 17-year-old Russian already served warning of her precocious expertise when she reached the final 16 of Wimbledon in 2023 after which once more on the Australian Open in 2024, solely to eclipse that by reaching the semi-finals on the French Open.
“I positively knew she was a younger participant to observe, she was beating very high gamers,” stated coach Conchita Martinez. “I did my homework and instantly may see she has numerous potential, all people can see.”
Andreeva’s first WTA title arrived in Iasi, Romania, earlier than she added an Olympic silver medal in doubles in Paris.
Now ranked at 16, that file suggests she is able to problem Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the No.1 rating.
Additionally learn: Indian chess prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh creates history, emerges as youngest-ever world champion
Baseball – Roki Sasaki
It’s 60 years since Masanori Murakami grew to become the primary Japanese participant to characteristic in Main League Baseball however the arrival this season of one other pitcher Roki Sasaki may show nearly as thrilling.
The 23-year-old from Iwate, who frequently exceeds 100mph on pitches, has been described within the US media as a “generational expertise on the mound”.
In 2022, he threw an ideal sport with 19 strikeouts, practically repeating the feat per week later with eight extra good innings.
He has been linked with Los Angeles Dodgers, the place he would crew up with countryman Shohei Ohtani, however the Chiba Lottes Marines pitcher might have to indicate some persistence as he’s too younger to signal on to an MLB contract.
Cricket – Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Eyebrows had been raised in November when Rajasthan Royals bid $130,500 for 13-year-old schoolboy Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who may grow to be the youngest-ever to play within the money-spinning IPL.
The teenage batter’s rise has been swift. He made his home debut aged 12 within the Ranji Trophy in January, then was chosen for India’s Underneath-19 squad in opposition to a touring Australia crew, promptly hitting a 58-ball century.
“He’s the type of participant who has come on Earth to play cricket, he settles for nothing else,” stated his state coach, Pramod Kumar.
Ferrari’s British reserve driver Oliver Bearman Ferrari’s British reserve driver Oliver Bearman
