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Liuzzi worried for Singapore

ESPNF1 Staff
September 21, 2011

Tonio Liuzzi does not think the HRT will be suited to the Singapore circuit © Sutton Images

Tonio Liuzzi admits he is worried about how competitive HRT will be in Singapore because the car "will hate the characteristics of the track".

Following two low-downforce tracks in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, the first of the flyaway races in Singapore represents a completely different challenge. HRT was unable to challenge Virgin on a Monaco track full of similar characteristics to Marina Bay and Liuzzi told ESPNF1 that the car does not perform well on the bumpy nature of the street circuits, but had higher hopes for later races.

"My biggest worry is actually Singapore because our car will hate the characteristics of the track," Liuzzi said. "The car doesn't react so well over bumps, kerbs and in low-speed corners and Singapore has a combination of all these things - I'm expecting a tough weekend.

"I think that Suzuka and Korea will be better and hopefully we will push even harder to get some new upgrades because we have slowed down a bit in that regard in the last few months. We were supposed to have something in Monza but it didn't arrive and now it should come at Singapore, but we need to push harder because Virgin is looking more competitive and we need to consolidate our 11th place position in the constructors' championship."

Looking ahead to next season, Liuzzi said he was expecting "a big step forward" in performance as the team develop a completely new concept.

"For 2012 we have had a few discussions for next year's car with our technical group to make decisions about geometry and everything that needs to be prepared ahead of time. We are working hard for the future and we hope that soon we will have a better picture of where we will be. One thing I can tell you is that next year's car will be completely different to this season's and I don't think we are planning to carry any parts over. Everything should be a big step forward."

Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)