David Croft names the one F1 rookie he expects to outperform Kimi Antonelli this season

Kimi Antonelli will be the third youngest driver in F1 history when he makes his debut with Mercedes in 2025.

Antonelli is one of six new full-time drivers joining the grid this season, The Italian will replace Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows after the seven-time champion joined Ferrari.

His PREMA teammate in F2 Oliver Bearman will also join the F1 grid full-time with Haas. The Brit made three appearances in 2024 – in Jeddah with Ferrari and Baku and Sao Paulo for his 2025 team.

Jack Doohan has replaced Esteban Ocon at Alpine while F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto will be joining Sauber on a multi-year deal. Red Bull have had a rejig of their driver line-up as Liam Lawson replaces Sergio Perez and Isack Hadjar takes the Kiwi driver’s place at Racing Bulls.

Of all the newcomers to F1, Mercedes‘ new recruit has the most expectations on him given his incredible junior career. George Russell says Antonelli has the raw speed to compete from the off.

Antonelli is looking to achieve ‘a little piece’ of his idol Ayrton Senna’s success during his F1 career. But in his debut season, David Croft sees another rookie getting the better of him.

David Croft thinks Liam Lawson will be the ‘most successful’ rookie in 2025

Lawson got the nod over Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda to replace Perez at the main Red Bull team in 2025. The Kiwi driver has impressed at the Faenza-based outfit in his 11 substitute appearances for Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 and 2024.

The 22-year-old was on the pace of his teammate despite being outperformed by Tsunoda last season. Lawson now has a great opportunity to fight at the front with Red Bull alongside defending four-time champion Max Verstappen.

While Croft ‘cannot wait’ to see Antonelli in action for Mercedes. the commentator sees Lawson as the one who will have the best chance to be the ‘most successful rookie in 2025.

“I think they’ll do very well because nowadays I think rookies can be way more prepared with the simulation tools they’ve had than they ever had in the past”, he said on the red carpet at the Autosport awards.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

“I also think we’ve got some great rookies coming through and all of them deserve to be there. How they get on in terms of consistency, I don’t know, I don’t want to put too much pressure on any of them.

“Formula 1 is a pressurised sport at the best of times. But of the rookies, I think Liam has probably got the best chance to be the most successful of them, in that a) he’s at a Red Bull team who will have a decent car I think.

“And b) he’s got more experience in terms of he’s already done 11 races. But, Kimi Antonelli just over there just over my shoulder, I cannot wait to see that young man on the track, racing in Formula 1”.

Could there be a mid-season driver change at Red Bull in 2025?

Lawson will have his work cut out in 2025 as he goes up against Verstappen. The Dutchman has outperformed all of his teammates since 2018 and has seen the likes of Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez all be dropped by Red Bull.

Lawson says Verstappen is simply the best in the world and this is why his teammates have struggled. The Kiwi driver will be hoping to not be the next to fail at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Lawson is expected a ‘very tough’ debut for Red Bull in Australia and he will be looking to get accustomed to the RB21 as quickly as possible – especially with Tsunoda eyeing that seat.

The Japanese driver will be keen to impress the team’s hierarchy and give himself a chance to drive with the main Red Bull team. F1 fans are predicting a driver swap between Lawson and Tsunoda, and the latter will look to make that happen.

Christian Horner says Red Bull will keep an eye on Tsunoda, not ruling out the possibility of him replacing Lawson mid-season. This will put even more pressure on the Kiwi driver to deliver in his first full-season in F1.