The Formula 1 grid currently looks exactly the same as did at the end of last season, aside from a few livery changes.
However, we already know that won’t be the case in 2025 with several drivers already confirming that they’ll be switching teams next season.
The most high-profile move is Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable decision to join Ferrari after more than a decade with Mercedes.
Nico Hulkenberg and most recently Esteban Ocon have announced their departures, but all eyes are on the young drivers trying to make their way onto the grid.
David Croft was speaking on The Fast and The Curious Podcast about one youngster he believes deserves a seat on the grid next year.
Formula 2 stars Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli look like they have a very good chance of joining Haas and Mercedes respectively.
Jack Doohan has also emerged as a candidate for Alpine with Ocon heading out of the door at the end of the year.
However, Croft believes that Red Bull junior Liam Lawson deserves to be in Formula 1 next year.
Whether he gets that opportunity is another matter.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
David Croft wants to see Liam Lawson in Formula 1 in 2025
Two more pieces of the Formula 1 puzzle were put into place in the past week and both involved Red Bull.
Despite his indifferent form, Red Bull decided to retain Sergio Perez until at least the end of the 2025 season.
The Mexican repaid their faith by being eliminated in Q1 and crashing out while racing outside of the points in Sunday’s wet race.
The curse of the new contract also hit Yuki Tsunoda in Montreal.
Tsunoda has been amazing this season and his new one-year deal with RB is more than justified, however, he also spun out towards the end of the race in Canada costing him several points after another positive weekend.
That means that there is now a shootout between Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson for the final spot on the grid in the Red Bull family.
Journalist Craig Slater has shared which driver is the slight favourite for the job in 2025 while his Sky Sports colleague David Croft believes that Lawson is more than deserving of a spot on the grid.
The driver’s market is moving fast this year, but this may be a seat that Christian Horner and Helmut Marko take more time to figure out.
READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Liam Lawson playing the waiting game for a 2025 seat
Speaking about the situation in the RB team, Croft said: “Daniel [Ricciardo] is not a young driver, he’s still a young man compared to me but he’s 34 now, he’s not a young driver.
“So, he’s in a seat at a team whose position in the Red Bull family is to bring young drivers through.
“Liam Lawson is no doubt a spectacular driver for the future who deserves a seat and people will ask questions if Daniel’s not performing, they’ll ask questions why he’s getting that seat ahead of Liam Lawson.
“But that’s Formula 1, there’s that pressure on every single driver.”
Liam Lawson has said that his contract makes it clear that he’s in line for a seat on the grid next year with RB otherwise he can leave the group.
However, it looks like options are already running out for Lawson elsewhere in the paddock.
There have been suggestions that Ricciardo and Lawson could take part in a mid-season swap over the summer break.
That would be very in keeping with Red Bull’s character but Ricciardo’s reputation and potential suggests that removing him halfway through the year for a driver with only five races of experience still presents a huge risk.
The post ‘No doubt’: David Croft names one ‘spectacular’ young driver who deserves to be in F1 in 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.