Vitantonio Liuzzi: “We are not giving up”

Vitantonio Liuzzi had a positive weekend at Imola, with a win and a second which put him just ten points shy of second place in the championship, held by former championship leader and fellow Mercedes driver Thomas Biagi. Liuzzi said that he and the team are not giving up, despite the 33 point lead Audi driver Gianni Morbidelli now has over Biagi, the best-placed Mercedes driver in the championship.

“Anything can happen in Vallelunga, so we’re not giving up quite yet”, said Liuzzi to TouringCarTimes. “In the past few years Audi were really competitive there, so it will not be an easy weekend to close the season with, but we’re ready to take the challenge.”

Liuzzi has several regrets over slight mistakes and mechanical failures which made his championship assault much harder this year.
“The good results we had this weekend show that the pace is in the car, but it makes everything bitter looking back on the season, where we lost so many points due to silly problems, like when I broke the differential during the warm-up lap at Donington. The team, the car and myself are a strong package and it’s a shame to potentially have lost a title due to those problems. There’s still a championship to fight for, anyway, so we must be ready to fight at our best.”

The former F1 driver says team orders were in the cards during the Superstars weekend at Imola.
“We talked about it, of course, as I could have helped him. Unfortunately he (Biagi) lost control of the car at Piratella and the option fell off. In general, it was not sure that I would have had to let him through, but it is what it is and it’s not an issue to think about. I would have helped him had he needed it, but there never was the chance due to him not finishing race one, so the question was unfortunately solved that way.”

Liuzzi underlined the reasons why Biagi had a successful season so far and believes consistency was his plus over him this year.
“Thomas has had a great season, he managed to finish the races and not lose points along the way, unlike I did. It’s not a matter of speed, but more of consistency, which was the key to him being so high in the championship at this point.”

The Mercedes driver spoke about his future and that he could consider both continuing in Superstars as well as finding something new.
“I like being involved in different things, I think I’m quite able to adapt myself to the different cars, be they single seaters, touring cars or whatever I sit on. I think a driver must be quick with anything with four wheels and an engine. I’m working on my future and I’m evaluating different options. The Superstars Series is an experience I love, I enjoy being here so much, and I have a very good relationship with Mercedes and the Romeo Ferraris team.”

Liuzzi is currently third in the championship, 43 points shy of Morbidelli’s lead.