Liuzzi set for HRT race seat talks this week

Vitantonio Liuzzi is not sure he will be on the F1 grid this year.

After being ousted by Force India, the Italian returned to the test track last Saturday with HRT, lapping the Circuit de Catalunya much quicker than the Spanish team’s confirmed driver Narain Karthikeyan.

Liuzzi’s best time was also much quicker than another reported contender for the final race seat in 2011, Swiss 30-year-old Giorgio Mondini, who was at the wheel of the black F110 on Sunday.

Liuzzi told the BBC: “We’ll talk in the next few days and see what comes.  It’s open at the moment.

“We have a few things I’m working on, there are talks elsewhere (in F1) but we are not talking about driving as we know the only seat available is Hispania.”

He admits he was rattled by the news that he would not be racing at Force India this year despite having a contract.

“Back home I was thinking what to do, if I wanted to be back or not,” he said.

“But when you jump on the track and it is what you love, you feel really good.  It’s a big relief and I felt happy when Hispania gave me this chance,” added Liuzzi.

He told autohebdo.fr that HRT was happy with his performance on Saturday.

“We’ll see.  We agreed to do this test to get acquainted and to see if there is a possibility for the future.”

© RIF | GMM