Tonio Liuzzi labelled his seventh place at the Australian Grand Prix as a perfect result following another strong race for the Italian.
"Another great race and another great result for the team," said Liuzzi, who charged back from 13th place to score points for the second race in succession.
"It's a confirmation of the pace we showed in Bahrain and the work the team did over the winter," added the Italian, ninth in the season opener.
"We worked hard all weekend for this seventh place and it's a brilliant result at the end of what was a crazy race.
"At the beginning of the race on the intermediate tyres we were struggling a little and lost a few positions but after I pitted for the dry tyres I was able to recover and stay on the race pace.
"Towards the end of the race the rear tyres were going off a lot as I had been on them for a long time, but it was just enough to hold onto the position. I think it was another perfect weekend and now we can look forward to Malaysia."
Team-mate Adrian Sutil was not so lucky, the German missing out on a points finish despite starting from the top ten.
Sutil retired from the race after just 12 laps.
"We seemed to have a problem with the engine very early on in the race," Sutil said. "I was driving on just four cylinders and then lost the power and that was it really. It was a shame as we were looking good after the start.
"The team looked to try and get me out again after I came into the garage as we were in such a good position and I was the quickest car on the circuit at one stage.
"We missed out on a big chance here today but what can you do. It's good news for the team that Tonio got some more points and I'll be looking to bring my points on board at the next race."
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label Liuzzi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liuzzi. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Tonio Liuzzi winds up the Jerez test for Force India
Tonio Liuzzi brought the VJM03's second test to a close today at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. The Italian covered 80 laps of the Spanish track with a programme that included work on set-up and understanding the car's behaviour with the heavier fuel loads necessitated by the race refuelling ban this year. His fastest lap of 1:19.650 was the fourth quickest of the day.
The team's testing programme will now move to Barcelona next week from 25 - 28 February. Tonio will drive for the first two days, with Adrian Sutil taking over for the final two days.
Tonio Liuzzi
Today was a really productive day for us. We covered 80 laps without any issues and got through our programme of test items for this week. Everything went pretty well - we worked on understanding the car's performance with different fuel loads and ran through some set-up changes and the car is responding well. We still need to work on the tyres over the longer runs and will continue this at the next test in Barcelona. Overall I think we can be very satisfied with how this test has gone and can look forward to another good test next week.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
A good day to finish the eight days of testing in Jerez. Tonio completed a broad programme of set-up tests and we are satisfied with what was learned. We've made good progress this week, having tidied up some reliability issues, and developed our set-up options with the VJM03. The team has begun its race preparation in earnest and we will head to Barcelona to continue this work over the final test before the first race of 2010.
The team's testing programme will now move to Barcelona next week from 25 - 28 February. Tonio will drive for the first two days, with Adrian Sutil taking over for the final two days.
Tonio Liuzzi
Today was a really productive day for us. We covered 80 laps without any issues and got through our programme of test items for this week. Everything went pretty well - we worked on understanding the car's performance with different fuel loads and ran through some set-up changes and the car is responding well. We still need to work on the tyres over the longer runs and will continue this at the next test in Barcelona. Overall I think we can be very satisfied with how this test has gone and can look forward to another good test next week.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
A good day to finish the eight days of testing in Jerez. Tonio completed a broad programme of set-up tests and we are satisfied with what was learned. We've made good progress this week, having tidied up some reliability issues, and developed our set-up options with the VJM03. The team has begun its race preparation in earnest and we will head to Barcelona to continue this work over the final test before the first race of 2010.
Saturday, 28 November 2009
Sutil and Liuzzi confirmed for Force India 2010 line-up
The Force India Formula One Team is pleased to confirm Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi will remain with the team for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, thus giving complete consistency in its driver line-up.
2010 will be Adrian’s fourth season in Formula 1. The 26-year-old German started his F1 career with Force India’s predecessors, Midland, as a test and reserve driver in 2006 before graduating to a race seat with Spyker in 2007.
In 2009 he recorded his best-ever F1 finish of fourth at the Italian Grand Prix, also securing his first front row start.
Tonio retains his race seat following his move up from the team’s test and reserve driver role at Monza this year. The 28-year-old Italian made his race debut in 2005 with Red Bull Racing and moved to Toro Rosso for 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he became Force India’s third driver.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal, commented, ‘We are very pleased to retain the services of both Adrian and Tonio for another season. We have always maintained that consistency is key at this stage in the team’s development and for the first time in many years we will have the continuity of not only the same drivers, but also the same engine and senior management. With this stability now in place I truly believe we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward on our strong 2009 performance. I am sure we have one of the most dynamic line-ups on the grid and I hope this will stand us in good stead in what we all hope will be a transitional year for the team.’
Adrian added, ‘2010 will be my fourth consecutive year with the team. I feel good here, it feels like family, and when you feel at ease you can focus your energy 100% on getting it right on track. Next season I want to be in the points on a regular basis, maybe even challenging for the podium, and the team has exactly the same goals. We are going massively in the right direction so with our combined energies I’m confident we can achieve even more than last season.’
Tonio said, ‘It was always my goal to be back racing in 2010 and I’ve finally achieved it. I feel the five races I did in 2009 were a bit of a warm-up; get back racing, learn the car, get the feeling back. Now I’ve done that I feel ready to really push next season. We were pretty strong in the last part of the 2009 season so if we pick up where we stopped I think we could be in for a good year. For sure points are the aim and showing everyone what we can do.’
An announcement regarding the third driver will be made in the weeks following the young driver test.
Quick Adrian Sutil facts
•Adrian made his F1 debut in 2006, driving the Midland in Friday free practice at the European, French and Japanese Grands Prix. His race debut came at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix and he achieved his first world championship points in Japan later that year. Despite a frustrating 2008 Adrian featured strongly in 2009, securing his first-ever front row start at the Italian Grand Prix and also the fastest lap of the race. To date he has scored six world championship points
•Adrian was the 2006 Japanese F3 champion and also finished second to Lewis Hamilton in the 2005 F3 Euroseries
•Born in southern Germany, Adrian has South American roots on his father’s side but now lives in Switzerland
Quick Tonio Liuzzi facts
•Tonio Liuzzi was Force India’s test and reserve driver from 2008 until the 2009 Italian Grand Prix when he stepped up to replace Giancarlo Fisichella, who had departed to Ferrari. He qualified an outstanding seventh on the grid and was in a points-scoring position until a mechanical failure caused his retirement
•Tonio made his F1 debut in 2005 at the San Marino Grand Prix with Red Bull Racing. He scored a point on this debut although competed in just three more races that year before making a permanent switch to Toro Rosso in 2006, where he remained for the 2007 season
•Tonio holds the joint record for the most F3000 wins in one season; seven out of a possible ten in 2004, his championship-winning year. The Italian holds the record with Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld
•Tonio has also held the
2010 will be Adrian’s fourth season in Formula 1. The 26-year-old German started his F1 career with Force India’s predecessors, Midland, as a test and reserve driver in 2006 before graduating to a race seat with Spyker in 2007.
In 2009 he recorded his best-ever F1 finish of fourth at the Italian Grand Prix, also securing his first front row start.
Tonio retains his race seat following his move up from the team’s test and reserve driver role at Monza this year. The 28-year-old Italian made his race debut in 2005 with Red Bull Racing and moved to Toro Rosso for 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he became Force India’s third driver.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal, commented, ‘We are very pleased to retain the services of both Adrian and Tonio for another season. We have always maintained that consistency is key at this stage in the team’s development and for the first time in many years we will have the continuity of not only the same drivers, but also the same engine and senior management. With this stability now in place I truly believe we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward on our strong 2009 performance. I am sure we have one of the most dynamic line-ups on the grid and I hope this will stand us in good stead in what we all hope will be a transitional year for the team.’
Adrian added, ‘2010 will be my fourth consecutive year with the team. I feel good here, it feels like family, and when you feel at ease you can focus your energy 100% on getting it right on track. Next season I want to be in the points on a regular basis, maybe even challenging for the podium, and the team has exactly the same goals. We are going massively in the right direction so with our combined energies I’m confident we can achieve even more than last season.’
Tonio said, ‘It was always my goal to be back racing in 2010 and I’ve finally achieved it. I feel the five races I did in 2009 were a bit of a warm-up; get back racing, learn the car, get the feeling back. Now I’ve done that I feel ready to really push next season. We were pretty strong in the last part of the 2009 season so if we pick up where we stopped I think we could be in for a good year. For sure points are the aim and showing everyone what we can do.’
An announcement regarding the third driver will be made in the weeks following the young driver test.
Quick Adrian Sutil facts
•Adrian made his F1 debut in 2006, driving the Midland in Friday free practice at the European, French and Japanese Grands Prix. His race debut came at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix and he achieved his first world championship points in Japan later that year. Despite a frustrating 2008 Adrian featured strongly in 2009, securing his first-ever front row start at the Italian Grand Prix and also the fastest lap of the race. To date he has scored six world championship points
•Adrian was the 2006 Japanese F3 champion and also finished second to Lewis Hamilton in the 2005 F3 Euroseries
•Born in southern Germany, Adrian has South American roots on his father’s side but now lives in Switzerland
Quick Tonio Liuzzi facts
•Tonio Liuzzi was Force India’s test and reserve driver from 2008 until the 2009 Italian Grand Prix when he stepped up to replace Giancarlo Fisichella, who had departed to Ferrari. He qualified an outstanding seventh on the grid and was in a points-scoring position until a mechanical failure caused his retirement
•Tonio made his F1 debut in 2005 at the San Marino Grand Prix with Red Bull Racing. He scored a point on this debut although competed in just three more races that year before making a permanent switch to Toro Rosso in 2006, where he remained for the 2007 season
•Tonio holds the joint record for the most F3000 wins in one season; seven out of a possible ten in 2004, his championship-winning year. The Italian holds the record with Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld
•Tonio has also held the
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Tonio Liuzzi Season Review
For the last five Grands Prix of the 2009 season Force India third driver Tonio Liuzzi was promoted to a race seat. After more than one and a half seasons as a test and reserve driver for the team it was always going to be a something of a learning curve for the Italian, but he acquitted himself well and was on for scoring points in Monza until he retired with a mechanical failure. We talked to Tonio about his year.
Q: How did you feel when you got the chance to race after Spa?
Of course I was really happy when my chance came, because I was dying being a third driver and watching races on TV! I think I’m born for racing, and I was suffering in that position. I got the chance and I think I did the maximum I could, because I had just five races to show my speed. I was pretty hopeful that I would race in 2010, but you know F1 changes a lot, so I had to maximise my five events in 2009.
Q: How hard was it just watching from the sidelines as third driver?
It was pretty difficult! Fortunately I kept my motivation up, because I was really sure I would be back in the race car one day, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. But it was not easy at all.
Q: You had been racing in other categories, but was it tough to come back without any testing?
Without testing it was pretty difficult, because F1 is quite different from other categories that I did this year, like Speedcar and A1GP. F1 is the cream of motor racing, and apart from the speed of the car you are competing with drivers that are mostly 100% at the top of their game, so it’s pretty challenging. It has been quite difficult, but I’m a fighter, and I think I showed in the races that I never give up. I like this kind of adventure or fight, and I coped with this pretty well, I think.
Q: What was the hardest thing to adjust to?
The most difficult thing was to get used to the driving style of the cars, because when I was driving before it was still grooved tyres, and not slicks. Without traction control with these tyres you require quite a different driving style. You can be more aggressive, you can brake harder, but you have to save the tyres in a different way. So for sure it’s been quite tough.
Q: How were the races for you?
I think we always had strong races. It was a shame in Monza, because the car was really strong there, and we could have finished between third and fifth, which would have been a really beautiful comeback. It was a shame we broke a driveshaft in the race but that’s part of the game. Sometimes when luck is not with you, you cannot get more. After Luca Badoer went back to Ferrari and the other times a third driver drove nobody could believe that we could be so strong, but in fact it was the opposite thing for me, I was feeling really confident about everything there. I could have been even faster, because I was not 100% myself.
Q: And for the rest of the races from Singapore onwards?
We were pretty unlucky in many respects. Singapore was the only race where we were not actually too quick, but both in Brazil and Suzuka we had a really strong pace, but we were unlucky in qualifying. In Japan we broke the gearbox in P3, and when we rebuilt it we had no time to test and the car was sliding on the ground in qualifying. That’s why I was losing 0.5s on the straights. In Brazil I had a big aquaplaning moment when I was pretty strong in the rain, and I was pretty sure I would finish in Q3. But in the races we always had really strong race pace, so I’m pretty happy overall.
Q: This was a strange season, with Force India going from the back to the front, and other teams doing the opposite! Can you explain it?
It’s been a crazy year, but I think the new rules made the championship so unpredictable. Our car was really strong on circuits with low drag and a lot of high speed corners and long straights. Williams were the opposite, they were good at slow circuits with a lot of downforce, and Toyota were the same. It’s been quite a mixed year. I think it’s been nice also for the show and for the spectators. The only cars that were consistently competitive were Brawn and Red Bull, and even they had different form at different circuits. So it’s been a great year from my point of view. Next year could be different, because I think the usual strong teams like McLaren and Ferrari could be back on top. But I think the new rules such as the ban on refuelling will keep the championship pretty interesting.
Q: Was the VJM02 the best F1 car you’ve ever driven?
Of course – especially in Monza, when we were really competitive. That’s why I’m really happy that we showed our potential there. We showed that when we have a competitive car, we can fight with the big boys. In the past with Toro Rosso I never had such a competitive car, we always had to hope it rained!
Q: How good is the Force India team now?
I think the team has got a really great structure. When they were Jordan they showed that they could take opportunities, even if they didn’t have the financial positions of the bigger teams. This is the same now - we’ve worked so hard together to make this team grow. The group of people working there are really great – I think there are a lot of great minds. I think they can surprise a lot of people.
Q: How did you feel when you got the chance to race after Spa?
Of course I was really happy when my chance came, because I was dying being a third driver and watching races on TV! I think I’m born for racing, and I was suffering in that position. I got the chance and I think I did the maximum I could, because I had just five races to show my speed. I was pretty hopeful that I would race in 2010, but you know F1 changes a lot, so I had to maximise my five events in 2009.
Q: How hard was it just watching from the sidelines as third driver?
It was pretty difficult! Fortunately I kept my motivation up, because I was really sure I would be back in the race car one day, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. But it was not easy at all.
Q: You had been racing in other categories, but was it tough to come back without any testing?
Without testing it was pretty difficult, because F1 is quite different from other categories that I did this year, like Speedcar and A1GP. F1 is the cream of motor racing, and apart from the speed of the car you are competing with drivers that are mostly 100% at the top of their game, so it’s pretty challenging. It has been quite difficult, but I’m a fighter, and I think I showed in the races that I never give up. I like this kind of adventure or fight, and I coped with this pretty well, I think.
Q: What was the hardest thing to adjust to?
The most difficult thing was to get used to the driving style of the cars, because when I was driving before it was still grooved tyres, and not slicks. Without traction control with these tyres you require quite a different driving style. You can be more aggressive, you can brake harder, but you have to save the tyres in a different way. So for sure it’s been quite tough.
Q: How were the races for you?
I think we always had strong races. It was a shame in Monza, because the car was really strong there, and we could have finished between third and fifth, which would have been a really beautiful comeback. It was a shame we broke a driveshaft in the race but that’s part of the game. Sometimes when luck is not with you, you cannot get more. After Luca Badoer went back to Ferrari and the other times a third driver drove nobody could believe that we could be so strong, but in fact it was the opposite thing for me, I was feeling really confident about everything there. I could have been even faster, because I was not 100% myself.
Q: And for the rest of the races from Singapore onwards?
We were pretty unlucky in many respects. Singapore was the only race where we were not actually too quick, but both in Brazil and Suzuka we had a really strong pace, but we were unlucky in qualifying. In Japan we broke the gearbox in P3, and when we rebuilt it we had no time to test and the car was sliding on the ground in qualifying. That’s why I was losing 0.5s on the straights. In Brazil I had a big aquaplaning moment when I was pretty strong in the rain, and I was pretty sure I would finish in Q3. But in the races we always had really strong race pace, so I’m pretty happy overall.
Q: This was a strange season, with Force India going from the back to the front, and other teams doing the opposite! Can you explain it?
It’s been a crazy year, but I think the new rules made the championship so unpredictable. Our car was really strong on circuits with low drag and a lot of high speed corners and long straights. Williams were the opposite, they were good at slow circuits with a lot of downforce, and Toyota were the same. It’s been quite a mixed year. I think it’s been nice also for the show and for the spectators. The only cars that were consistently competitive were Brawn and Red Bull, and even they had different form at different circuits. So it’s been a great year from my point of view. Next year could be different, because I think the usual strong teams like McLaren and Ferrari could be back on top. But I think the new rules such as the ban on refuelling will keep the championship pretty interesting.
Q: Was the VJM02 the best F1 car you’ve ever driven?
Of course – especially in Monza, when we were really competitive. That’s why I’m really happy that we showed our potential there. We showed that when we have a competitive car, we can fight with the big boys. In the past with Toro Rosso I never had such a competitive car, we always had to hope it rained!
Q: How good is the Force India team now?
I think the team has got a really great structure. When they were Jordan they showed that they could take opportunities, even if they didn’t have the financial positions of the bigger teams. This is the same now - we’ve worked so hard together to make this team grow. The group of people working there are really great – I think there are a lot of great minds. I think they can surprise a lot of people.
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