Tonio Liuzzi confirmed at HRT, and De la Rosa at McLaren - The Italian gets his long-rumoured drive at Hispania
Published by Christine
Hello and welcome to F1Minute, it’s the 9th March 2011.
Tonio Liuzzi has become the final driver signed to the F1 grid this year after his deal with HRT was confirmed today, putting an end to the speculation. Team Principal at HRT, Colin Kolles, spoke of his recent signing, saying: “I have known Tonio for many years as he raced with me in lower categories. He is a very professional driver who will bring a lot of benefits to the team.” Meanwhile, Liuzzi said: “I never lost hope to be in Formula 1 as I knew I have the experience and the right attributes for a young and ambitious team. I face a new challenge now and this excites me.” Liuzzi was at Force India last year but made way for Paul di Resta there, and is now teamed up with Narain Karthikeyan.
In other signing news, it was confirmed today that Pedro de la Rosa will return to McLaren as reserve driver, alongside Gary Paffett. Pedro was at Sauber last year, completed a stint as Pirelli test driver and now joins the team he previously spent seven years with.
