Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

for the

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inclu ...

, Toro Rosso,

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

and HRT teams.

Karting

Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many auto racing drivers, began his career in

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

(at age 9). He won the 1993 Italian Karting Championship, and in 1995 took second in the Karting World Championship and placed fifth in the European Championship. He won the

Karting World Championship The Karting World Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the Commission Internationale de Karting, CIK-Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. It is held annually since 1964, and is karting's flagship event. The FIA (In ...

in 2001. He beat Formula One

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

at Kerpen, Schumacher's 'home' track.

Formula Renault, F3 and F3000

Liuzzi then moved to

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

, finishing second in the 2001 German Formula Renault Championship. Racing in the German Formula Three Championship, however, he scored only ninth place. That same year he did win the Imola International F3 race and had test drives for the Coloni

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

team and Williams, the Formula One constructor. Red Bull hired Liuzzi for the 2003 F3000 season, in which he finished fourth. He moved to the Arden team for the following F3000 season, where he won seven of the ten races, securing the title with one race left.

Formula One (2005–2012)

Winter 2004 Formula One speculation

Liuzzi's performance in Formula 3000 led to speculation that

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

might employ him, either as a test driver at their Formula One team, or at

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it un ...

, the Formula One team that Ferrari had a close association with as its longtime

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

supplier. He did have a test drive with Sauber in September 2004, but shortly before he tested they announced they had signed former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve to a two-year contract. In November 2004 Liuzzi was given a test drive by

, who hired him for 2005 in January.

Red Bull (2005)

Initially it seemed that he might be given the seat along with David Coulthard, but Red Bull chose Christian Klien, leaving Liuzzi as the test driver. Despite good performances by Klien in the first three races, Red Bull abided by an agreement they made before the season that both he and Klien would be able to race. Liuzzi would replace Klien for the

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

, Spanish and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Grands Prix. Liuzzi scored his maiden point on his debut after both BAR drivers were disqualified at San Marino. Following the Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco, he was given one more race at the European Grand Prix, before his seat was returned to Klien for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Toro Rosso (2006–2007)

Following

's purchase of the

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followi ...

team – thereafter renamed

Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...

, Italian for Team Red Bull – Liuzzi was rewarded with a full-season seat in the "B-team". At the 2006 United States Grand Prix, he scored the team's first point, with an eighth-place finish after a race-long battle with Coulthard and Nico Rosberg. However, that was the only point the team would score in . Vitantonio Liuzzi 2007 Brazil free practice

Vitantonio Liuzzi 2007 Brazil free practice

Liuzzi was confirmed with the team for the season at the launch of the STR2 on 13 February 2007. Unfortunately, during the first half of his season his races were plagued by mistakes similar to his former teammate's. He seemed likely to score his first points of the season at

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, but instead he crashed into the infamous "Wall of Champions" at the exit of the final chicane. He also faced constant speculation over keeping his seat, as the team openly courted both

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One histo ...

and Champcar series champion Sébastien Bourdais. His teammate

Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One sin ...

claimed Red Bull wanted to replace both himself and Liuzzi. Once Bourdais' contract for 2008 was announced, Liuzzi's performances improved. After being denied a world championship point in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

by a post-race time penalty, he drove what many consider the best race of his Formula One career in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Narrowly missing out on Q3 by qualifying 11th, he gained three places at the start, then overtook Mark Webber of the 'works' Red Bull team, as well as the BMW of Nick Heidfeld. Throughout the race he kept pace with 5th-placed

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

, and held off a late charge from Heidfeld to finish 6th and collect three points.

Force India (2008–2010)

Vitantonio Liuzzi 2009 Japan 3rd Free Practice 2

On 10 August 2007 Toro Rosso confirmed that Sébastien Bourdais would drive for them in 2008, leaving Liuzzi without a seat. Liuzzi's manager, former Lotus boss Peter Collins, confirmed that Liuzzi wished to continue his involvement in F1. He had been linked to a test drive role with Williams, but it eventually went to

Nico Hülkenberg Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German professional racing driver who is scheduled to make a full-time racing return to Formula 1 with Haas F1 Team in 2023, after serving as a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 Team for the yea ...

. He then secured the role of test driver for the Force India F1 team on 10 January 2008. Liuzzi stated he hoped to move up to a race seat in as he is contracted until , but the contracts of his teammates

Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013– 2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also ...

and

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has ...

would not expire until the end of . On 3 September 2009, Force India released Fisichella so he could replace Luca Badoer at

, who had filled in for two races for injured driver

Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one point ...

. On 7 September 2009, Force India announced that Liuzzi would drive for them in the remaining five races of the

2009 Formula One season The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the on 29 March and ending with the i ...

. He made his race debut for Force India at the

2009 Italian Grand Prix The 2009 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2009) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 September 2009 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 13th race of the 2009 Formula One ...

and qualified an impressive seventh, given the fact he started the race with a heavier fuel load than his younger teammate Sutil. He was running solidly in the points, before retiring after 22 laps with a transmission problem. Vitantonio Liuzzi 2010 Malaysia 2nd Free Practice

Vitantonio Liuzzi 2010 Malaysia 2nd Free Practice

On 27 November 2009

announced that it kept

and Liuzzi as drivers for 2010. Liuzzi achieved his first-points scoring finish since the

2007 Chinese Grand Prix The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix (officially the 2007 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix) was the sixteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 7 October 2007 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. The r ...

in the season-opening

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally the 2010 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening ...

. He finished ninth in the race, picking up two points due to the introduction of a new points system in Formula One in 2010. At the following round in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, he finished seventh in changeable weather conditions collecting a further six points. In

Liuzzi finished ninth, scoring another two points for Force India. At the , Liuzzi qualified in a career-best sixth, which improved to fifth after Mark Webber's gearbox change. In the race, Liuzzi finished ninth after tangling with

at the first corner. He scored another point at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

, after Jaime Alguersuari was penalised post-race for gaining an advantage from cutting the Bus Stop chicane in the closing laps. He matched his career best finish of sixth at the , and eventually finished 15th in the championship with 21 points, a career best. Although he had a valid contract with

for , Liuzzi was replaced by

Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...

HRT (2011–2012)

Liuzzi was considered as a possible replacement for

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...

at Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 season, after Kubica sustained life-threatening injuries in a rally crash in Italy on 8 February. However, despite rumours suggesting that Kubica wanted Liuzzi to be his replacement, the team opted to employ Nick Heidfeld to fill the role instead. Subsequently, Liuzzi was announced that he would be testing for

Hispania Racing HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group T ...

Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has ...

, as the Spanish team evaluated him for their second race seat alongside

Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F ...

. Liuzzi was confirmed in this role on 9 March 2011. He did not qualify for the and retired in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

after the team withdrew him for safety reasons. He recorded his first finishes with the team with a pair of 22nd-place finishes in

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

but retired in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

with a gearbox issue. He took a 16th-place finish in

, and a 13th place in

, Hispania's best finish to date. After a 23rd-place finish at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and an 18th at the , he failed to finish in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

with electrical problems. Liuzzi finished as the final classified finisher in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

(20th), and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(19th), before a first-lap retirement in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

after contact with

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham a ...

. As a result of the contact, Liuzzi slid across the grass and directly into Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg. He finished as the final classified finisher in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

(20th),

(23rd) and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

(21st). For the , he was replaced by

, who took a race seat in front of his home fans alongside Daniel Ricciardo. Liuzzi returned to his race seat in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

however, and again finished as the final classified finisher, in twentieth place. In the final race at

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, he qualified 21st ahead of his teammate Ricciardo and both of the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

cars and was running ahead of Ricciardo in the race when he was forced to retire from the race due to an alternator failure on lap 61. Liuzzi stated in January 2012 that, while he had a contract to continue with the team in , his position within the team was uncertain. In February 2012 it was announced that

had been handed the final race seat; leaving Liuzzi without a drive.

Superstars Series (2012–2013)

Without a drive in Formula One, Liuzzi looked for other racing options. He eventually joined the International Superstars Series for the 2012 season, driving for CAAL Racing in a Mercedes C63 AMG. He took his first podium finish at the first race during the first round in Monza, and he took his first win of the season during the second race of that round.

Super GT and Super Formula (2014)

In 2014, Liuzzi moved to Japan and competed in

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

(GT500 class) and

Super Formula The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

. In his first season of Super GT, he drove for the

Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) is a joint racing project formed between former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki and Autobacs Seven Co. in 1997. The team's original name was "ARTA F1 Project," but due to trademark claims based on the usage of the word "F ...

(ARTA) team along with Kosuke Matsuura.

Racing record