HRT refugee Vitantonio Liuzzi has re-emerged on the grid of the Italian-based touring car series Superstars.
Despite having a 2012 contract, the 30-year-old Italian lost his race seat at the struggling Spanish team HRT for this year to the well-backed Indian Narain Karthikeyan.

So, in 2012, he will race a Mercedes C63 AMG – which he tested last week at Monza – in the Maurizio Flammini-organised Superstars series.

Also on the grid will be former F1 drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Mika Salo, Gianni Morbidelli and Johnny Herbert.

“I’m persuaded that Superstars is a great choice to open yourself to other categories than F1,” said Liuzzi.

The season begins in April at Monza, then moving on to Imola, Donington, Mugello, the Hungaroring, Spa, Portimao, Vallelunga and Sentul (Indonesia).

Since 2005, Liuzzi also raced in F1 with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India.

All the hard work has finally paid off today as the F112, the car with which HRT Formula 1 Team will compete this season, completed its first laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona.

Since the car passed the last crash test and was homologated, the team has carried out work shifts to cover 24 hours a day to make sure it could make it, for the first time in its history, to the first Grand Prix of the season having run previously.

The car was able to run after the team took advantage of one of the filming days available during the season.

The car made it to the circuit from Munich, Germany, just after one in the afternoon and the mechanics and engineers got straight down to business, working on relevant adjustments. It was a combined team effort, working against the clock, which saw its rewards four hours later when Narain Karthikeyan led the car out onto the track. Pedro de la Rosa, Dani Clos and Tonio Liuzzi were also present, as were Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsports Federation and Salvador Servià, General Director of the Circuit de Catalunya.

The tests were carried out without any setbacks and the car carried out over ten laps. The team was able to check that the car functioned properly both from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view as from a systems standpoint.

The team will prepare the necessary material in the upcoming days and head down under for the first Grand Prix of the season which will take place at Melbourne, Australia, in just two weeks.

Narain Karthikeyan: “Today was a shakedown of the F112 and I have had the honour to be the first driver to test it. The first impressions are quite good; it’s definitely a step up from last year. We couldn’t do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now. Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They’ve done a proper job with the car and I’m sure that it’s a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year”.

Pedro de la Rosa: “Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues. This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress”.

Luis Péres-Sala, Team Principal: “I’m very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day. I’m very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead”.

The Italian press has pointed the finger at Vitaly Petrov’s “rubles” as Jarno Trulli races out of formula one.
With Vitantonio Liuzzi replaced at HRT by Narain Karthikeyan, and veteran Trulli ousted at Caterham by Petrov, F1 history enters a new phase as Italy no longer has a single driver on the grid.

“If you look,” said former grand prix winner Riccardo Patrese to La Stampa, “the drivers coming in now are from central America and the East.”

The unsponsored Trulli, 37, said he still wants to race but also has his wine and hotel businesses to keep him busy.

“More than anything else, apart from the results, I am proud to have been able to fulfil my dream of racing in F1 for many years and stay on the grid on my own power, without anybody’s help,” he is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Switzerland’s Blick newspaper points out that no fewer than 81 Italian drivers have raced in the modern F1 championship.

And Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio reminded that in 1989, no fewer than 16 drivers in the field were Italian.

Some Italian fans are pointing the finger at Ferrari, annoyed that the famous marque has not signed a full-time Italian race driver for many years.

And why Felipe Massa? “Because we believe in him,” an official of the Maranello based team is quoted by Spain’s Marca newspaper.

“It’s not enough to have an Italian passport to drive for Ferrari,” he added.

Ermestel, a Spanish company specialized in datacenter infrastructure transformation based on technologies such as Virtualization and Cloud Computing, has reached an agreement with HRT Formula 1 Team by which it will become an IT Official Supplier to the team for the next three years. The team has decided to trust in the sound experience and guarantee of the integrator’s IT projects to face the new racing season.

For the 2012 season, together with Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa, HRT is working towards being as competitive as possible in such a demanding world as is the pinnacle of motorsport and, along with national companies such as Ermestel, continuing to grow the “Spain” brand and helping to increase its international recognition.

Ermestel, through this agreement, will manage the entire IT infrastructure of the Spanish team whilst also supplying the team with a disaster recovery system.

Pedro Tortosa, Ermestel CEO: “Formula 1 represents excellence in technological innovation and style and I believe that those are values that perfectly suit Ermestel. HRT Formula 1 Team transmitted to us the importance of counting with a great technological partner, since without this base, the most visible aspects such as the car and the driver wouldn’t function properly. We are delighted that they have decided to trust in us for the management of the IT platform, which in such an innovative and standout world as is Formula 1, represents a great responsibility and a thrilling challenge that gives us the opportunity to prove our national leadership in innovative technologies”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, HRT F1 Team Team Principal: “In a sport that is extremely competitive and demanding as is Formula 1, everything has to work quickly and to perfection. Ermestel’s contribution will be fundamental for our systems to operate with the required performance and reliability. HRT is a young team with a long road yet ahead, but thanks to this alliance with another innovative Spanish company we will continue to grow as a team”.

- Ends -

ABOUT ERMESTEL

ErmesTel is a Madrid-based systems integrator specialized in datacenter infrastructure transformation. Since more than ten years ago they design and deploy innovative IT solutions based on Virtualization and Cloud Computing technologies and products that allow their customers to consolidate, optimize, manage and support virtual datacenter infrastructures, both in-house and external.
In the field of virtualization, ErmesTel has been present in the main projects in Spain since 2002, becoming the national reference delivered over 450 projects in the major sectors (Banking, Public Sector, Insurance, Industry).

Areas of expertise:

-    IT Infrastructure: Virtualization, Storage Solutions, Network (SAN, LAN), Backup, Disaster Recovery.
-    Infrastructure Services: Analysis and Consulting, Design of Projects, Supply Hardware and Software, Deployment and Configuration, Training, Support Service.
-    Managed Services: MS of Virtual Infrastructure, MS of Mail (Exchange or Zimbra), MS of Updating.
-    Cloud Computing: DRaaS (Disaster Recovery in Cloud) y DaaS (Desktop in Cloud)

Contact ErmesTel: Cristina García, Head of Marketing and Communication
c.garcia@ermestel.com
+34 91 744 05 77
www.ermestel.com

 The eventual occupant of the second race seat at HRT – the final place on the 2012 grid – will bring “no less” than EUR 6 million to the table.
That is the claim of the Spanish sports daily Marca, reporting that Dutchman Giedo van der Garde is apparently on pole position to be Pedro de la Rosa’s teammate at the struggling Spanish team.

The newspaper said Dutch GP2 driver van der Garde seems to have at least the requisite 6 million in sponsorship but acknowledged that “the list of candidates is long”.

“I am still waiting for good news,” 26-year-old van der Garde is quoted by De Telegraaf newspaper, “and I’m positive.

“I’m training hard to prepare myself as best as possible,” he added on Tuesday.

Some regard the growing influence of ‘pay-drivers’ as bad news for a premier sport such as formula one.

“Whatever happens,” said Felipe Massa last week amid rumours he could lose his Ferrari seat, “at least I know I’ve never had to pay to drive.”

Stung twice in as many years, Vitantonio Liuzzi has admitted that today’s formula one contracts are effectively worthless.
At the end of 2010, the 30-year-old Italian was ousted by Force India with a season to run on his contract.

And now, Liuzzi looks likely to depart HRT, despite the former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver insisting he has a full two years to run on his current deal.

“At the moment everything is very vague,” he told the Italian website 422race.com.

“The main problem is that the team have no budget, so they are evaluating the way to get the money to have two drivers.

“For sure they would like to keep both me and Pedro (de la Rosa), but we are still in standby,” added Liuzzi.

He acknowledged that while he is “fully” involved in HRT’s 2012 plans right now, the situation could change at “any minute”.

“Currently the deals (in F1) are worth very little, because a young driver with money can always come and buy the seat,” said Liuzzi. “That’s how it works.”

A last-minute backup plan for the Italian could be a third driver role at another team, but it is also believed he might be eying a role in a series outside F1 — perhaps sports cars.

“We are evaluating,” he admitted, “because it’s a decision to make.

“For sure when the situation changes at the last minute it isn’t easy to find places in top teams.

“I’m open to new challenges, because it has always been part of my career.”

 HRT will have to buy out the remainder of Vitantonio Liuzzi’s contract if the Spanish team wants to replace him for 2012.
That is the claim of the Italian magazine Autosprint, after HRT announced that Pedro de la Rosa has been assigned one of the two race seats for next year.

It has been reported that several candidates are in the frame for the other seat, with HRT needing to sign a pay-driver because Spaniard de la Rosa does not come with lucrative backing.

Autosprint reports that the decision to sign de la Rosa was made by HRT’s new Spanish management and had “nothing to do with (boss) Colin Kolles”.

“Liuzzi has a three-year contract and a buyout clause in his favour,” said the magazine. “If the team decides to let him walk, they must pay a large sum.”

But if Liuzzi stays, then Daniel Ricciardo and the Red Bull dollars that come with him will go.

Australian Ricciardo could instead end up in Jarno Trulli’s Lotus/Caterham seat , with Toro Rosso looking increasingly likely to keep both Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi for 2012.

Italiaracing reports that Jean-Eric Vergne might therefore have to spend next season as Toro Rosso’s Friday driver.

“A few of us are not really sure what’s happening next year,” Ricciardo said at Interlagos. “Hopefully I’ll keep Dr (Helmut) Marko and the guys at Red Bull happy and see what opens up for next year.”

Pedro de la Rosa was officially presented today as an HRT F1 Team driver for the next two seasons. The act took part at the “Consejo Superior de Deportes” in Madrid and was attended by Saúl Ruiz de Marcos (HRT F1 Team, CEO), Luis Pérez-Sala (HRT F1 Team, Sports Advisor), Carlos Gracia (Real Federación Española de Automovilismo, President) and Matilde García (CSD, General Director).

Pedro de la Rosa: “This is a very special day and I’m very happy to be in the company of, not only Luis and Saúl as representatives of HRT, but also Carlos Gracia and Matilde García, who are the maximum representatives of two organizations that have backed me since I started my career. Returning to the active competition is something that makes me very happy and even more so to do it with a Spanish team. The first time we spoke in July I didn’t see myself as part of this project. However, meeting Saúl and the fact that Luis, one of my idols, is part of the team, finding out more about the project and to see that, little by little, what they told me was materialising is what convinced me. I said to myself, I have to be there! It’s a huge task but also a fascinating and meditated one. We know that it’s not going to be easy but I’m going to contribute work, experience and effort to grow together. And I hope that we can receive everyone’s support so that in the near future we can feel proud of ourselves. I’ve come to stay and I want to thank HRT for trusting in me, but also Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes because without them I wouldn’t be here and thanks to them, today I am a better driver”.

Pedro de la Rosa audio file

Saúl Ruiz de Marcos, HRT F1 Team CEO: “I’m very excited to have been able to announce Pedro as an HRT driver. Since we arrived a few months ago, one of the pillars upon which we wanted to base the project was having Pedro on the team. From day one we got straight down to work to try and convince him and after four months of negotiations I am very proud to have achieved it. We are on the right path, taking every step at a time and turning the project we had in mind at the beginning into reality. We are working discretely, with humility and analysis and every decision made has been premeditated to ensure that it is correct. I think we are on the right track to becoming a great Spanish team in one year’s time”.

Luis Pérez-Sala: “We joined this project back in August and tried to convince Pedro to come on board from day one. It wasn’t easy as he was very happy at Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes but, in the end, he’s decided to join us and I’m very proud to have him on our team for the next two years. When we took on this project in August, we thought that it was necessary to define a strategy and set some solid bases and Pedro was a key factor for this project to be viable. He is a driver with a lot of talent and his experience of over 12 years in F1 will help us to grow in the right path”.

Carlos Gracia, RFEdA president: “Today is a very important day for Spanish sport and for motorsport in general. First of all, I would like to thank Saúl, Luis, Matilde and, above all, Pedro. I believe that our nation’s sport is going through different phases and this project which we are presenting today is a new one. From the RFEdA we fully support HRT, a team that is here to stay and that we all want to see grow and consolidate itself. Pedro is my friend and my passion, a home grown product that I’m terribly proud of. I’m sure that HRT have got it right signing Pedro, because with him the team’s credibility will grow”.

Daniel Ricciardo is not relaxed about his future in formula one.
Recently seen as the natural successor to his countryman Mark Webber at Red Bull, the 22-year-old Australian has struggled to get up to speed with Vitantonio Liuzzi after replacing Narain Karthikeyan at HRT earlier this year.

The move was funded by his backers Red Bull but Ricciardo is contracted to the energy drinks company only to the end of 2011.

With Sebastien Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari and Jean-Eric Vergne all also in the running for Red Bull’s junior seats at Toro Rosso, the West Australian newspaper concludes that Ricciardo’s future is clouded.

“I’ve got the next few races,” said the upbeat Ricciardo on Saturday, when it was announced his teammate Liuzzi will sit out India next weekend to make way for Karthikeyan’s one-off return.

“They (the last three races) still play a part for next year, so for me it’s important to stay focused on those and not watch what the other guys are doing and what I’m doing too much off the track.

“I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t have a place next year, but it’s one of those things,” he continued.

“There’s only limited space. I think obviously having Red Bull and hopefully impressing them enough this year, they’ll continue and put me in somewhere.”

A lack of sponsorship looks to have dented a rookie Spaniard’s chances of joining the F1 grid.
Earlier this year it was rumoured Vitantonio Liuzzi could lose his HRT seat as the Spanish team eyes a place for Javier Villa.

The 23-year-old, who drives a BMW in the world touring car championship, was reportedly targeted for a prominent role by the team’s new owner Thesan Capital.

“Yes, it’s all true,” he said in July.

But it appears that Villa’s hopes have now dimmed.

“They wanted to make a big Spanish project, based in Spain, drivers of our country, sponsorships from here,” he told the Asturias TV channel TPA.

“I think one of the biggest problems has been the Spanish sponsorships. The only thing is to wait for how things unfold in the coming months.

“If there is no sponsor, probably what the driver who does come can provide is very important,” added Villa.

Jarno Trulli might need to endure another race without Team Lotus’ new power steering system.
The Italian veteran has struggled all season with the original system and even sat out July’s Nurburgring race whilst waiting for the new one to debut in Hungary.

“For me it makes a lot of difference because I can actually feel the car and get the exact car behaviour, which I didn’t have with the old one,” he said at Monza on Thursday.

“I was pretty much a passenger before rather than a driver. With the new one it’s normal power steering.”

At the same time, it emerged that Trulli had to do without the new steering at Spa two weeks ago for “technical reasons”.

The new system is back on the car for Monza, but 37-year-old Trulli hinted that the problem is still not entirely solved.

“We might have to probably jump another race but at the moment I just want to concentrate and focus on this one,” he said.

Also hoping to stay with his current team in 2012 is fellow Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi, who thinks HRT is finally set to make some progress off the back of the grid.

“The big project is for the future, for 2012, and I have to say the new owner Thesan are planning big things for the team,” he said on Thursday.

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he must do a “more than respectable” job if he wants to be promoted by Red Bull for the 2012 season.
The Australian is the current cream of the energy drink company’s young driver programme and since July has been placed with the small HRT team.

But in his three races so far, he has only once outqualified experienced teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi.

While most the F1 world slumbered in August, 22-year-old Ricciardo was in action at the weekend at Silverstone in the Renault World Series.

He has been linked with a move up to Red Bull’s secondary Toro Rosso team for 2012.

“I’ve got to do a more than respectable job at HRT this year and then we’ll see what opens up for next year,” Ricciardo is quoted as saying by the West Australian newspaper.

“I obviously have a link with Red Bull but nothing is really guaranteed for the long term.”

The time for Sebastien Buemi’s evaluation as a future Red Bull driver will be up at the end of the season.

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost told F1′s official website that drivers should get a “maximum (of) three years” to show they have the potential to follow Sebastian Vettel in readiness for a top seat.

“Or let’s put it this way: if you are not sure after three years whether he’s going to make it, I would bluntly say forget him, period,” said Tost.

Swiss Buemi, 22, made his F1 debut at the start of 2009 and is now considered the most likely Toro Rosso driver to make way for Red Bull’s latest protege Daniel Ricciardo.

“I expect him (Ricciardo) to best (HRT teammate) Liuzzi after not more than three or four races,” said Tost.

He admitted that both Buemi and his current teammate Jaime Alguersuari are “still deep in” the self-discovery phase.

“They are moving forward … so let’s wait and see how the second half of the season works out. Then at the end of the year we will sit together with Red Bull to discuss who will sit in our cars in 2012.”

Tost said he is looking forward to working with Red Bull’s next youngsters including Ricciardo and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

“Red Bull bought this team with the intention to give youngsters a chance to prove themselves and eventually rise to a seat with Red Bull Racing,” he said.

As Mark Webber prepares to commit to Red Bull for 2012, team consultant Dr Helmut Marko has given the strongest sign yet that his successor will be another Australian.
Marko reinvigorated the speculation about Webber’s future in Hungary by saying that the 34-year-old is likely to retire after racing one more season.

“Mark Webber will continue with us for another year, and then he will decide what to do in his career,” the outspoken Austrian is quoted by Italian publications including Tuttosport and Corriere dello Sport.

Marko reportedly added that “Red Bull will decide who takes his place, although it is likely it will be (Daniel) Ricciardo”.

He is referring to the 22-year-old Australian who recently made his grand prix debut at HRT with Red Bull backing.

“I thank the guys at Red Bull for the nice words, but it’s still too early to talk about the future,” said Ricciardo.

“I hope there is a chance to race with them, but first I need to beat my teammate Liuzzi, who is a few tenths ahead of me.”

As for Webber’s 2012 deal, he said he is on the verge of making his decision.

“I’ll decide about my future at Spa,” said Webber, referring to the forthcoming Belgian grand prix.

Asked if it is his decision alone, Webber simply answered “yes”, adding that the only thing he is weighing up is “purely my own motivation for racing”.

And as for Ricciardo, Webber told Austria’s laola1: “I think he has a great future ahead of him.”

It is Red Bull’s “intention” to promote Daniel Ricciardo through the energy drink company’s F1 ranks.

That is the claim of Dr Helmut Marko, the outfit’s driver manager who in Hungary revealed that Mark Webber will “probably” retire and be replaced by “one of our juniors” beyond 2012.

The other candidates are Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, amid reports Ricciardo travelled recently to Faenza for a seat fitting.

Asked by Australian broadcaster One if HRT newcomer Ricciardo is a candidate for one of the seats next year, Marko admitted: “If he is doing well, the intention is there, yes.”

Budapest was 22-year-old Ricciardo’s third grand prix, and he was closer to the pace of his teammate, the formerly Red Bull-backed Vitantonio Liuzzi.

“I hope there is a bit more to come because I’m close to Tonio on raw pace in qualifying but still not close enough, and definitely not a bit ahead, which of course is where I’d like to be,” he said.