In the round-up: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has explained why they chose Liam Lawson instead of Yuki Tsunoda to join them for 2025.

In brief

Tsunoda ‘wants to prove us wrong’ – Horner

Red Bull passed over Tsunoda, who has four years of experience in F1, to hire Lawson, who has started just 11 races. Horner said the team felt Lawson had shown he was the better choice to go up against Max Verstappen.

“We felt that Liam’s trajectory, together with his mental strength and resilience, were the right assets to partner Max next year,” he told Talksport. “Because arguably that seat is the toughest in Formula 1, going up against Max Verstappen, who is at the peak of his career.”

Horner said Tsunoda was inevitably disappointed at being overlooked for a promotion to the top team. “I spoke to him a short while ago and he’s more motivated than ever,” he said. “He wants to prove us wrong, obviously.

“As I said to him, this sport moves so quickly, this industry moves so quickly, he just needs to keep doing a great job in the Racing Bulls team. He’s got a lot of talent, he drove our car at a test just a week or so ago as we wanted to really evaluate him and really impressed the engineering staff.”

Liberty Media delays date to complete Moto GP deal

Formula 1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media says it is confident the European Union will approve its bid to take over Moto GP after the European Commission announced earlier this week it would investigate the deal.

“We are confident this transaction will benefit Moto GP’s business, fans, viewers and the broader motorcycle industry. Market participants have widely recognised the benefits of the transaction,” said Liberty Media in a statement.

“There is a very large and growing market for audiovisual entertainment well beyond sports, and this transaction will enhance Moto GP’s ability to compete in this highly competitive market.

“We will continue to work with the European Commission as they progress their review and have agreed with the sellers to an extension of the longstop date to June 30, 2025 in order to accommodate the more in-depth investigation.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

Social media

Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:

Once a year I need to complete my helicopter proficiency check with an examiner. That was today and I am pleased to say all passed!

A part of the test is landing with a simulated engine failure. Video above! Even without an engine we can fly for short periods and autorotate to… pic.twitter.com/FCw0a56Ns3

— James Vowles (@JV_F1) December 20, 2024

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Arun Srini, Fastmovingthoughts, Stig 3 and Dom!

On this day in motorsport

  • Born on this day in 1905: Pierre Levegh, who started six F1 races and died in the terrible 1955 Le Mans crash along with over 80 spectators