Tonio Liuzzi believes he will quickly get up to speed on his Formula 1 race return with Force India at Monza this weekend despite his lack of recent testing.
The former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver is preparing for his first grand prix in almost two years following Giancarlo Fisichella’s switch to Ferrari, Liuzzi having spent the intervening period as Force India’s test and reserve driver.
The Italian last completed in an official F1 test in November 2008 and has only limited experience in the VJM02 he will be driving this weekend, having completed only a shakedown of the car in February and several straight-line tests, including one at Cotswold Airport last week.
But with Force India confident it will be able to continue its stunning front-running form from Spa at the similarly high-speed Monza, Liuzzi may find he’s under more pressure to get on the pace more quickly than would have been the case several races ago.
The 28-year-old, however, insists he feels fully prepared to do just that – although he admits he is glad that he is returning on a circuit that is both familiar to him and less physically demanding than could have been the case.
“I think I'm ready to jump in the car because I kept myself really fit, and the work we've been doing is helping me a lot to keep me sharp,” he said.
“Monza will be perfect because it's a good from a physical approach.
“Singapore would have been tougher, because I don't know the circuit, and everyone complained last year that it was very physical.
“The speed doesn't concern me, I think we'll be straight away close to the pace. I'm more fit than ever.”
With the new-for-2009 in-testing testing ban ensuring reserve drivers like Liuzzi have had little, if any, opportunity to drive their respective team’s current cars, the former Formula 3000 champion admits his second year on the testing bench has been particularly frustrating.
But the Italian feels he has still helped contribute to the team’s remarkable performance improvements, adding that he has been primed for a call-up for some time.
“I feel very much involved with the team and with the improvements we made,” Liuzzi said.
“A lot of the developments have been made with the wind tunnel and I'm very happy that the team is moving forward and we are doing a great job.
“For sure in Spa it was a bit of a dream for us to be on pole position!
“But it's been a difficult year because it's been my second year as a third driver. I think I'm born for racing, and in the end it's difficult to watch the races on TV.
“But inside myself I was pretty confident that I'd be back in a race seat soon, and it kept me motivated for the future. I was ready to jump in the car whenever I was needed.”
Having failed to live up to his reputation in the junior formulae following his progression to an F1 race seat first time around, Liuzzi is hoping to cement a permanent position on the grid by impressing in the final five races of this season.
Indeed, the flamboyant character says he returns to the grid having picked up good experiences from driving alongside ex-F1 race-winning drivers Jacques Villeneuve, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi in the now defunct Speedcar Series earlier this year.
“That was another event that kept me busy, but for sure it's very different from a single-seater driving style!” he said about the category in which he scored three wins and finished third in the standings.
“It taught me a lot because I drove with some really professional drivers.
“I don't need to name the names, but everyone in the history of F1 was there!
“So I learned a lot from them in the way they approached the racing and the way they behaved in the races. It was really good fun, because the car was good fun to drive.”
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