Liuzzi: No hard feelings towards STR

Sunday 17th February 2008

Tonio Liuzzi has offered his former bosses at Toro Rosso an olive branch and says he is eager to find a race seat in 2009.

The Italian reportedly suggested that Gerhard Berger was at fault for his failure to secure a drive this season.

Despite such reports the Force India test driver said that he feels no resentment towards Berger, even though he was dumped by the team.

"The relationship was actually good at the end of the year," Liuzzi told Autosport.

"For sure the beginning of the season was difficult and there was a little bit of tension, but after that we built up a really good relationship until the end of the season.

"The results showed everything was going in the right direction.

Liuzzi intimated that the rise of Sebastian Vettel, rather than a personality clash with Berger, led to his exit from the Faenza-based outfit.

"Gerhard always had on his mind that he wanted Sebastien Bourdais for 2008. So I think maybe the fact that Sebastian Vettel came after half a year didn't help me much. But Berger felt he had made a better decision, and it was just a shame that I left Red Bull. I've no bad feelings about it, though.

"For sure, Gerhard and Franz (Tost) have never been big fans of mine, and they wanted other opportunities for the future. But I don't regret any moment of my two years with Toro Rosso."

The former Red Bull man says that he has no hard feelings towards Toro Rosso and also moved to play down reports of conflict within the team.

"There is no conflict at all. Part of the business of F1 is that you come through one door and you go out another. It is always the same in the paddock. We had no fight at all.

"He will always be a friend and that is part of the business. He thought he had a better solution for 2008, and I fully understand that. I have also found myself a good opportunity."

Liuzzi has targeted a return to the grid next season, but he is upbeat about his role at Vijay Mallya's newly-formed outfit.

"Definitely my big objective is to be back racing in F1 in 2009," he said. "I am putting a lot of effort into that and I feel positive with Force India. They are giving me a lot of chances and a lot of mileage, and we are doing big steps forward together. So that makes me feel positive.

"I have a lot of positive feelings for the future and I want to give the maximum this year to try and improve the car, because I think 2009 is a time when the team will be able to make a big step forward."

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