Liuzzi talks about Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Webber, and Ricciardo
The Italian believes that the Austrian team will still be the one to beat in 2012 and defends Toro Rosso's choice to replace its two drivers for 2012, preferring to be surprised by the renewal of Mark Webber in his position.
A few weeks before the first tests, the F1 world is gradually coming out of its traditional hibernation period, and some are already venturing into the prediction game, like Vitantonio Liuzzi in an interview for 422race.com: « The Red Bull will remain the car to beat in 2012, having won the last two championships with a huge technical advantage. We’ll have to see how Adrian Newey has worked on the exhausts. I hope the grid will be more compact and that driver errors will have an impact on the championship outcome, » the Italian predicts.
However, the technical regulations present new challenges for the teams, particularly following the ban on blown diffusers, which some hope will shake things up a bit: « We will see who worked the best on the exhausts in 2011, because we heard so much noise about the advantage this solution was able to provide last year on the most competitive cars » judges Liuzzi. « I think the gaps might close a little, but every year, there are teams that find a new avenue of development to improve the cars’ performance. At HRT, we haven’t found it, but I think teams like Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren will have something, especially Adrian Newey, who has always found a way to differentiate his creations with interesting and competitive ideas. We will see, mid-season, what will be the defining element of this season. »
Vitantonio Liuzzi then takes the opportunity to reflect on his relationship with Red Bull and more specifically the success of Sebastian Vettel: « When I see the performances I achieved during the half-season we raced together [editor’s note: during Vettel’s early days], I don’t feel inferior. I’m happy to see that he has already won two championships: this motivates me to think that, the day I have a competitive car, I could win. »
The Italian then reflects on his time at Toro Rosso and absolves Helmut Marko of any blame: « Internally, there were abrupt changes, but they were not decided by Marko, who always supported me, but by Gerhard Berger… »
Thus, the one who was replaced by Sebastien Bourdais before joining Force India and then HRT, defends Toro Rosso in their choice to part ways with Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, even if he regrets that they were not given their chance at Red Bull: « Toro Rosso is a team aimed at developing young drivers from Red Bull’s junior program. What should cause a stir, in my opinion, is not so much the replacement of the two drivers at Faenza, but rather the fact that Mark Webber was retained at Red Bull. It’s something strange: sooner or later, you have to give a chance to those who have grown [at Toro Rosso]. Alguersuari had a good season and didn’t deserve to be ousted, but now, we also know this aspect of Red Bull; we know that sometimes they pull the rug out from under you. I hope Jaime can continue his career.
In 2012, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo will carry the hopes of Red Bull. While the Frenchman will make his grand debut in Melbourne, the Australian already has some experience, accumulated alongside Vitantonio Liuzzi: « He’s a good guy and professional. He showed he could stay low-key, despite all the commotion around him, I expected him to be the new darling. […] At HRT, he didn’t impress me, just as he didn’t set the F1 world alight, but 2012 is the most important year for him. »
