Vitantonio Liuzzi Now Drives Formula 1 for Force India

India lost its star performer Fisichella to Ferrari last week. Vitantonio Liuzzi now assumes the new responsibility of driving car #21. He has been Force India’s reserve driver since 2008. He has already fulfilled team’s crucial tests and development role since the start of 2008 season to fit the needs.

Vitantonio Liuzzi said on the occasion, “I can’t wait to get back into the car in race trim, particularly at my home Grand Prix in Monza. I really appreciate the opportunity Vijay has given me, particularly now Force India now has a great car that’s performing very well. I am confident I can carry on our progress. I’m very motivated; I’m in good shape and hungry to get some more points on the board. Although it’s unfortunate that this came about as a direct result of Felipe’s accident, this is my opportunity to show people what I can do and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Dr. Vijay Mallya who is the chairman and team principal welcomed Luizzi behind the driving seat. “I’m delighted to give Tonio the opportunity to get back into a race seat, which I know he has been itching to do for the past two years. He also stated that Team India is in a very competitive position and it needed a driver suitable to continue the momentum gained so far. “This will be the chance for Tonio to demonstrate to both the team and the field that he has the commitment, speed and professionalism to perform and I am sure he will seize this opportunity,” he said.

Luizzi’s last test was in the VJM02 was on Thursday 3 September at Kemble airfield when he conducted an aero test with the Monza down force configuration. He has a long list of kudos and accolades in the field of Grand Prix and holds records with Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld. In 2001, he also won FIA-CIK World Karting Championship title.

Force India programme to produce Indian F1 drivers

Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, January 21, 2008
First Published: 16:24 IST(21/1/2008)
Last Updated: 16:26 IST(21/1/2008)


After fluttering the tri-colour on the Formula 1 grid, Force India has now set about the task of unearthing homegrown Michael Schumachers and Lewis Hamiltons with a new driver programme.

The first concrete step was taken when the Motorsports Association of India (MAI) collaborated with continental motorsports bodies to form the Autosport Academy Asia in Johor Baru, Malaysia.

While MAI would identify the budding drivers who can make it big, Force India would do everything else to groom them for the big league of Formula One.

"The MAI will identify deserving young Indian drivers who will be supported by Force India to undergo a driver training course at the academy," Vijay Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director of the Formula One team told PTI.

"Drivers who show exceptional abilities will then be further supported by Force India to race in selected European Championships," said Mallya, also the MAI chairman.

With Mallya, along with the Mol family, taking over the Spyker team and renaming it Force India, many expected to see an Indian driver -- either Narain Karthikeyan or Karun Chandhok -- behind the wheels.

But while Karthikeyan veered to A1 GP, Chandhok felt he needed another season in the GP2 series before taking the F1 plunge.

Force India subsequently unveiled an impressive driving line-up comprising Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil and Viantonio Liuzzie, the last being the test driver.

Mallya said the basic idea behind the new programme was to produce Indian F1 drivers.

"The principal objective is to identify, train and eventually prepare an Indian driver for the Force India F1 Team to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship," he said.

The academy in Malaysia, based at the Johar circuit, will be affiliated to the French Motorsport Federation(FFSA), which runs a driver training programme in Formula Campus single seater racing cars at their facility in Le Mans.

The Asia academy will have two driver courses which will assess if the youngster is good enough for F1.

To motivate the drivers, two prizes would be up for grabs at the academy.

The first prize winners will get a drive in the newly upgraded long course in Le Mans where there will be a Euro 60,000 subsidy from the FIA - to be allocated from the McLaren fine -- and the second one would come in the form of a Euro 30,000 subsidy.

And in case any Indian makes it to Le Mans, Force India would offer its help to the driver.

Force India starts testing for 2008 F1 season

Indo-Asian News Service
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 (Chennai)
Cars kitted with the new standard electronic control unit (ECU), minus traction control and other driver aids, marked the start of the 2008 Formula One season, which got underway with the official test session in Jerez, Spain, on Monday.

According to information received, Force India opened their session with test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi lapping one minute, 23.035 seconds, that placed him 11th overall, way behind David Coulthard of Red Bull Racing, who was the quickest with a 1:19.677 in wet conditions.

Liuzzi's 47 laps around the 4.423 kilometre track was often interrupted by red flags as most drivers struggled to come to grips with the electronics' package that puts more emphasis on "manual" driving.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen and his Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa were second and third with 1:19.845 and 1:20.123, respectively.

The surprise of the day was Sebastien Vettel of Toro Rosso whose 1:20.732 lap placed him fourth, ahead of McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa (1:20.883) and Heikki Kovalainen (1:20.936).

Force India's lead driver Giancarlo Fisichella will take over from Liuzzi for next test drive, with Adrian Sutil getting behind the wheel for the final day of testing Wednesday.

"We have improved from the last test we did here and the car seemed to respond better than last time. It was quite a difficult day though, as we had a few mechanical problems and we had to wait in the garage for a while, so we didn't put in too many laps.

"But the few laps we did I think were pretty positive. It was just unfortunate that the issues stopped us doing some more, but it is a three-day test and we can look forward to some more development. We are going in the right direction and still have a lot of work to do," Liuzzi said after his test drive.

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer of Force India said: "A reasonably productive day of testing, and good to shake out the cobwebs and start again in 2008. As the morning was wet, we did some running in both wet and dry conditions, but we had a couple of hydraulic issues throughout the day that limited the lap count.

"Overall it was a reasonably useful day."