Razia still aims for F1 but knows his limits
Luiz Razia still plans to pursue a career in Formula 1 despite the failed episode with Marussia at the start of the season. The Brazilian has been racing in GT since then but will talk to F1 teams for 2014, even though he knows he has a weak point, his lack of funding.
At the beginning of the year, following his second place in the GP2 drivers’ championship, Luiz Razia was officially announced as a Marussia driver. However, the Brazilian was quickly sidelined within the Russian team, with Max Chilton participating in most of the winter testing sessions. Ultimately, less than a month after being confirmed, Razia was replaced by Jules Bianchi.
The Brazilian was ousted due to payment defaults by his partners and still lacks money, but he still aims for F1 as he told Sky Sports F1 Online: « In Formula 1 these days, everything is about money and talent comes second – unfortunately, I don’t have money at the moment, so it seems difficult to come back. We had this problem at the beginning of the year and it was over, and we are still trying to solve the problem. Obviously, it was not easy, but then I was invited to race this season in GT Open with the Bhai Tech McLaren team, and it has obviously been a very good experience so far. Our next race is at Spa in September, and it’s going well. »
Even if the GT experience is going well, Razia will soon try his luck again in F1 but he will need to find a lot of money: « From the end of August to September, we will continue to try, but if I don’t see any signs of sponsors then I will turn towards GT, Le Mans, something like that. It’s good to look for a seat as a professional, rather than paying all my life. If August and September go well then I will continue to search, but it’s very difficult to find 12 million euros at the moment. It’s quite complicated. »
Razia did not win the GP2 title in 2012, finishing behind Davide Valsecchi, but the Brazilian believes that doing another year was unnecessary as he had sufficiently proven his worth: « I had no desire to return to GP2 even if I had [the possibility of having] a free seat, because I did such a good job last year that there was no reason to come back and prove anything. There should be a step between GP2 and F1, but with these kinds of budget issues, it’s difficult to be promoted. So, it’s clear that I will look at opportunities – even IndyCar could be good if I have my chance. But it’s mostly about getting your chance, and if a good opportunity comes along, then I will certainly seize it. »
