Q&A with Tonio Liuzzi

Thursday 26th November 2009

Tonio Liuzzi reviews his 2009 season, which saw him move up from Force India test driver to race driver ahead of the Italian GP.

Q: How did you feel when you got the chance to race after Spa?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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?
TL: 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.

Source: Force India

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