Name: Vitantonio Liuzzi
Date of Birth: 6 August 1981
Place of Birth: Locorotondo, Italy
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 68kg
Resides: Lugano, South Switzerland, Rents a one-bed flat in Chelsea, UK and Pescara, Italy
Previous Residence: Hemel Hempstead, UK
Languages: Italian, English, French
Current Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Previous Team: Red Bull Racing
Interests: Girls, Music, Dancing, Soccer
Car: Sporty S Line 2.0-litre Turbodiesel Audi A3. With tinted windows. Does 240km/h [150mph] on straights.
Blood type: B+
Hobbies: Football
Piercings: Left upper ear, Left eyebrow, Left lower ear
Tattoos: One - Left Leg - Chinese/Japanese characters
Pets: 3 dogs - Cloe, Klaus, Penelope
Favourite track: Nürburgring
Favourite food: Pasta, Pizza
Favourite drink: Red Bull
Favourite music: RnB, Hip Hop
Favourite shop: Harrods

Girlfriend:Francesca Caldarelli

Manager: Peter Collins – former Lotus Boss

Biography: Tonio Liuzzi is one of the brightest talents to emerge from International Karting in recent years.

Tonio was a resounding winner of the prestigious 2001 FIA/CIK Karting World Championship series.

At the same time that he was successfully pursuing the ultimate prize in Karting, Tonio also finished second in the 2001 German Formula Renault Championship. His performance in his first season of car racing together with his Karting World title marked the young Italian as a future star with the talent to take him to the top of the sport.

During 2002 Tonio contested the German Formula 3 Championship and established his reputation as one of the quickest drivers in the Championship. Three pole positions, three podiums and a dominant pole to flag victory in the San Marino International Formula 3 race at Imola, displayed his true potential. Even so 2002 did not meet expectation as friction within the team was a new problem for Tonio to deal with. In 2003 Tonio contested the FIA F3000 International Championship with Coloni Motorsport, emerging as the top rookie. He took pole in Hungary after only nine laps on the circuit, with a margin of 0.471 over the second qualifier, but victory eluded him with a pit stop problem when a wheel nut jammed. He finished fourth in the championship. His 2003 performances earned him the lead drive with 2003 F3000 Champion team Arden International. "We looked long and hard before we chose our drivers," said Christian Horner. "We expect Vitantonio to perform strongly as our lead driver.”

The 2004 F3000 International Championship proved Tonio’s potential. Taking seven wins from a total of ten starts, including nine pole positions, Tonio stormed to the championship. The Italian holds the joint all-time record for F3000 wins along with Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld.

For the 2005 season Tonio will act as third driver for the newly formed Red Bull Racing team, carrying out testing duties on the Friday of each Grand Prix and acting as reserve driver.

Facts

From Toro Rosso.com: During the final minutes before the start of a grand prix, Tonio does not say very much, as he does his formation laps before sticking the car on the grid. He goes through the checks the engineers ask him to perform, in terms of setting functions like engine, diff and tyre settings, but other than that he likes to keep it quiet.

From F1 Racing Magazine: Before races Tonio likes to spend 20 minutes in a room alone, listening to music. “A bit of smooth, old-skool R&B. Not hard stuff, soft. Just to get into the groove; you know, feel the beat.”

From F1 Racing Magazine: "After the Australian Grand Prix last year, [2005] I went on a training camp with my team-mate, Christian Klien, on Langkawi, an island off Malaysia. One day we went diving and I remember turning around and seeing a big barracuda a couple of metres from me. It was showing its teeth, which was really frightening. I haven’t been diving since."

From F1 Racing Magazine: When Tonio agreed for Peter Collins to be his manager, Tonio couldn’t afford a lawyer to check the contract – so he just went with his heart. Which told him Collins was clever, sincere and the right option for him.

From Toro Rosso.com San Marino 2006 Weekend: Tonio was given a very strange present by Red Bull Italia. It was a necklace with a very big pendant that looked like an alien from another planet. Tonio of course loved the big gold shiny thing and wore it all the time. But this did not please everyone. As a TV crew interviewed Tonio early in the weekend, halfway through the interview the Sound Engineer had to ask Tonio to turn the necklace around as it was bashing against the microphone.

At the San Marino Grand Prix weekend Tonio was given a blue Masarti car and his own motorhome for each of the European Grand Prix!

From Toro Rosso.com Spanish 2006 Weekend: Both Scott and Tonio were introduced to the most important fan at the race track in Barcelona, King Juan Carlos of Spain. In fact both drivers had a Juan to Juan interview with him! It didn’t exactly bring them much luck in the race.

From Toro Rosso.com British 2006 Weekend: On Thursday the energy station featured a table-football competition and that was won by Tonio who was playing alongside Pasquale Lattunnedu, the man who is essentially the paddock and F1 pass coordinator. “I didn’t so much grow up with motor racing, as I did with table football,” confessed Liuzzi. “Every summer, I would play it for hours on the beach.”