Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio " Tonio " Liuzzi ( born August 6, 1981 in Locorotondo (BA ), Puglia ) is an Italian race car driver. 2004 Liuzzi won the championship of the International Formula 3000 Championship. From 2005 to 2011 he competed for several teams in Formula 1
- 3.1 Career stations
- 3.2 Statistics in Formula 1 3.2.1 Individual Results
Career
Junior categories
Liuzzi began his motorsport career in 1991 as a ten year old with kart racing. In 2002 he moved to numerous successes in Formula racing and went first in the German Formula 3 Championship at the start, where he finished fourth in the final standings from the start. 2003, called by his fans, " Tonio " Liuzzi rose to the Formula 3000 and went there for assisted by Coloni Motorsport Red Bull Junior Team F3000. In the championship he won again the fourth. In the 2004 season, Liuzzi made the breakthrough: After moving to the champion team Arden International, he drove in ten races nine times on the pole position and won seven of them, which helped him become the undisputed champion.
Formula 1
Red Bull (2005)
The Formula 1 scene became aware of him through these services. Since Liuzzi still belonged to the junior squad of Red Bull, he was first promoted to official test and reserve driver for the newly formed Formula 1 Red Bull Racing. He came to this function in the 2005 season even four races in which he replaced regular driver Christian Klien. In his first Formula 1 race, the Grand Prix of San Marino on April 24, 2005 Liuzzi managed with an eighth place right away his first championship point, but was unable to reach other points in the remaining three races.
Toro Rosso (2006-2007)
After Red Bull had also taken over the Minardi team in late 2005 to continue it as Scuderia Toro Rosso, Liuzzi changed for 2006 as a regular driver in the new team. When the U.S. Grand Prix he reached with a re- eighth the only time that season the points. Although Liuzzi could not completely convincing, but at least his American teammate Scott Speed was under control, he got a regular driver contract for 2007. During the season, but it became increasingly clear that Toro Rosso was dissatisfied with his drivers, because they exploited the possibilities of the car poorly. Corresponding expressions of team co-owner Gerhard Berger and Franz Tost race director were everywhere to be read in the trade press. Speed was finally replaced during the season by the German Sebastian Vettel, Liuzzi remained until the end of the season, but did not get a new contract. During rainy and chaotic Chinese Grand Prix is recommended Liuzzi again with a sixth place and three championship points with other teams, but initially received no cockpit.
Force India (2008-2010)
In the winter before the 2008 season, he participated in the shoot-out in part at the newly formed successor Spyker team Force India and was presented in January by team boss Vijay Mallya as the official test and reserve driver, who he first stayed in 2009.
After a team driver Giancarlo Fisichella had left the team before the last five races, however, to replace the injured Felipe Massa in the Ferrari team tradition, Liuzzi was transferred to the orphaned cockpit of Adrian Sutil's side. He celebrated the Grand Prix of Italy after almost two years of his comeback as a Grand Prix driver. Right at his first race he started from the seventh position, but retired from. In the remaining four Grand Prix Liuzzi could not repeat this good qualifying performance and achieved this season no championship points.
For the 2010 season, Liuzzi was placed next to Sutil as a regular driver. The internal duel against Sutil he could not decide for himself and he lost Sutil with 21 to 47 points. The Italians came five times in the points, scoring the Grand Prix of Korea with a sixth place his best result. At the end of the season, he finished 15th in the overall standings. Although he had a contract for the 2011 season with Force India, his team broke the contract in January and replaced Liuzzi by the former test driver and DTM champion Paul di Resta.
HRT ( 2011)
Liuzzi received for the 2011 season finally signed a contract with HRT, where he was first team-mate Narain Karthikeyan and later by Daniel Ricciardo. The first race weekend in Australia, he failed at the 107- percent rule. At the Canadian Grand Prix, he scored his best season with a 13th place ranking. In India he was replaced once by Karthikeyan. At the end of the season, he finished 23rd place in the championship. 2012 Liuzzi lost its use in HRT cockpit and stayed on as a test driver for the team.
Other racing series
In the 2008/2009 season Liuzzi stepped up to four races of the A1GP series and was able to achieve a pole position. He also set up in 2008 in the Speedcar Series at the start.
Personal
Liuzzi lives in Pescara, Italy.
Statistics
Career stations
- 2004: Formula 3000 (Master)
- 2005: Formula 1 ( 24th place )
- 2006: Formula 1 ( 19th place )
- 2007: Formula 1 ( 18th place)
- 2008: Formula 1 ( test driver )
- 2009: Formula 1 ( 22nd place)
- 2009: Speedcar Series ( 3rd place)
- 2009: A1GP
- 2010: Formula 1 ( 15th place)
- 2011: Formula 1 ( No. 23 )
- 2012: Formula 1 ( test driver )