Exceptional Liuzzi Massa-cred

Date: 14th June 2010 at 4:30 pm | Filed under: Force India,Formula 1 News | Author: Manish Patel | Tags: Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Force India, Michael Schumacher, Montreal, Renault, Robert Kubica, vijay mallya, Vitantonio Liuzzi | image © Action Images

For the second time this season, Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi finished in the points to cap off a satisfactory weekend for Force India. Tonio came home in ninth after an eventful race and Sutil took the final points scoring position from Michael Schumacher on the final lap to finish tenth.

Both drivers also managed to get into Q3 with Liuzzi qualifying a career best 6th and Sutil 9th. Mark Webber’s gearbox change meant that Vitantonio started the race from 5th.

Promising

In all three Practice sessions in the lead up to qualifying, the early signs were promising for the team and points finishes were a possibility for both drivers. It was vital for Liuzzi to have a positive weekend and ending up in the Top 10 after all three practice sessions will have bound to have given him confidence. In the end it proved to be the perfect tonic for the Italian.

Adrian and Vitantonio comfortably got into Q2 and at this stage many of us would have presumed Sutil would end up going into Q3 and Liuzzi would go out in Q2. But Tonio had other ideas! At the end of Q2, Liuzzi ended up in eighth ahead of his team-mate and McLaren’s Jenson Button and this was just a sign of things to come.

In Q3, Tonio was 4th at one stage with a time of 1:15:648 but ended in 6th after Button and Sebastian Vettel posted quicker times. However Liuzzi had a fantastic qualifying session and ending up 6th will have done him the world of good. Sutil qualified ninth ahead of Nico Rosberg but he had been out-qualified by his team-mate for the second time this year.

Eventful

The ex-Spyker driver was seventh after the opening lap but Liuzzi had a coming together with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa not once, not twice but three times. Liuzzi did hit Massa on the first instance but third time round Massa sent Tonio spinning and Liuzzi unfortunately ended up at the back of the grid.

Renault’s Robert Kubica almost ended Sutil’s race on Lap 26 when he dangerously went past the German to get into the pit lane. Had Adrian already committed himself to turning into the corner before Kubica got past him, then both drivers could have collided. It was Round 2 on Lap 50 when Massa and Liuzzi went head to head again but the Brazilian pulled off a great move and went 13th.

Five laps later, Massa got past Sutil into 11th and it seemed that Force India were heading for nil points from Montreal. All that however was about to change on Lap 65. Massa who was running 10th at the time damaged his front wing after trying to get past his former team-mate Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari driver was forced to pit and Liuzzi now found himself in the final points scoring position.

Schumacher’s rear tyres were going and Liuzzi was chasing him down very quickly. On the final lap, Tonio got past the feisty German and scored two deserved points for the team. Sutil also got past Schumi on the final lap to salvage a point from an OK weekend for Force India.

It could have been more had Tonio not collided with Massa on the first lap and Sutil not gone off track and losing two places on Lap 27. However both drivers finishing in the points bearing in mind they were running 12th and 13th on Lap 57 will have been pleasing.

Pleasing

Personally I think Liuzzi will be pleased with his performance and I think he has every right to be even though he did end up at the back of the grid at the end of the first lap. He was exceptional and coming through the field and finishing ninth was a great effort from the Italian.

Sutil was at one stage running seventh so he may be slightly disappointed to have finished tenth. Like Liuzzi, he might not have collected any points but he got past his fellow German Schumacher on the final lap to finish in the ‘Top 10’ for the fourth consecutive race.

Scoring points regularly is vital and that is exactly what Force India are doing. It’s fair to say Tonio has come under pressure from the media but he has now scored points in four races out of a possible eight. It has not been a disastrous season for Liuzzi as some sections of the media are making out.

Adrian will have been delighted to finish in the points for the fourth race on the trot. It could have been more but both drivers finishing in the points will have put a smile on Vijay Mallya and the team.