Horner won't favour Liuzzi
The appointment of his former Formula 3000 team boss Christian Horner as Red Bull Racing's new Sporting Director will not necessarily boost Vitantonio Liuzzi's chances of securing a Formula 1 drive with the outfit

Horner is adamant that his previous relationship with Liuzzi - who won seven races and the F3000 championship for Horner's Arden International team in 2004 - will not lead him to favour the Italian over the other contender for the RBR seat, Austrian Christian Klien.
"I know Vitantonio very well and he's a talented driver," said Horner, speaking to the Reuters news agency. "But he'll be judged on what he does in an F1 car.
"We'll be looking at him and Christian Klien closely in forthcoming tests. We're in no rush to make a decision."
Red Bull has already signed both Liuzzi and Klien, with the intention being to put one of the duo alongside David Coulthard in the race team and keep the other as a test and reserve driver. Speculation had suggested that Klien was the leading candidate for the race drive as he already has a year's F1 racing experience with Jaguar, although Liuzzi's talent is highly rated - especially after his dominant run to the F3000 title.
The team has hinted that it may not finalise its driver line-up until the eve of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March.

Toyota unveils new TF105
Ralf Expects to Fight for Podiums by End of Season

Latest news
New social media study shows striking swings in MotoGP's popularity
An analysis of the social networks of MotoGP riders and teams confirms that Marc Marquez has taken over from Valentino Rossi as the series' most popular figure.
Cosworth: F1 return not on radar despite Ford's comeback
Cosworth is not considering a future return to Formula 1 despite former partner Ford’s comeback with Red Bull in 2026, saying it “hasn’t been a focus.”
Ekstrom joins World RX as sporting director for 2023 season
One-time World RallyCross Championship title-winner Mattias Ekstrom will join the series promoter as sporting director ahead of its second season of its full-electric regulations.
FIA president Ben Sulayem steps back from day-to-day F1 operations
The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has stepped back from the day-to-day running of Formula 1 ahead of the new season.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.