The Secret Life of Vitantonio Liuzzi
He was born in Italy but lives in Switzerland; he’s been wowing the Formula One paddock on and off for the last six seasons with his colourful dress sense; and from his 57 Grand Prix entries he’s claimed 18 world championship points and a career-best finish of sixth place at the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix. But delve a little deeper, and there’s plenty more to discover about Liuzzi, not least the 30 year-old Italian’s love of adrenalin, his hatred of F-ducts and his gift for amnesia…
Q: Are you the kind of guy to have a ‘Plan-B’?
Vitantonio Liuzzi: “I think I am a ‘Plan-A,B,C… X,Y,Z’ kind of guy. I always find a quick answer to things that are happening and my decisions follow that fast road. I have definitely more than just a Plan-B.”
Q: Aside from driving a Formula One car, what is your favourite buzz?
VL: “All the other adrenalin sports. I like motorcycling, bungee jumping, parachuting – adrenalin.”
Q: Who do you most look forward to seeing when you arrive in the paddock on a Thursday?
VL: “My engineer to let him show and explain to me any new updates on the car.”
Q: Who is your dream date?
VL: “My dream has actually already come true. I always wanted to meet Nigel Mansell and I’ve already had the chance to meet him. Naturally one person I always wanted to meet was Ayrton Senna – unfortunately that never happened.”
Q: Which film last made you cry?
VL: “There sure was one but I cannot remember the name. It was definitely not a romantic movie. I am not into that kind of stuff.”
Q: What are you afraid of?
VL: “Nothing, though I don’t like snakes, and all those little crawling animals with many legs.”
Q: What was the last book you read?
VL: “Autosport. I am not really into reading.”
Q: What is your favourite way to relax?
VL: “Staying at home with the family and friends.”
Q: Name five things that you hate?
VL: “Oversteer, the F-duct, Chinese food, wasabi, untruthful people.”
Q: Have you ever – or would you ever – dye your hair?
VL: “Yes, when I was a kid. When I was 17 or 18 I was quite wild and I went from yellow to green to black – the whole colour palette.”
Q: What was the first CD that you bought?
VL: “It must have been something by Michael Jackson.”
Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
VL: “I have a tattoo on my left leg and have had piercings in the past- on my eyebrow and my upper ear – but they are gone now. When you grow up you want to have a different image, that’s why they had to go.”
Q: What did your teachers say about you in your school reports?
VL: “He was a really good boy – not the most talented, but well brought up.”
Q: Who were your childhood heroes?
VL: “Nigel Mansell and Maradonna.”
Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
VL: “No, not really. I am quite a rigid person. The shopping sprees are a thing of the past.”
Q: Do you collect anything?
VL: “Caps. All kinds of sports and fashion caps. I have in the range of 150 to 200.”
Q: What do you miss most about home when you are on the road?
VL: “My friends, family, my social life.”
Q: What was your worst buy?
VL: “I have had a lot of bad buys. I like fashion and I like electronic gadgets and sometimes I buy something that goes immediately into the closet after a short look at it at home.”
Q: How do you take your coffee?
VL: “I drink latte macchiato.”
Q: Your ideal non-race Sunday morning?
VL: “Sleeping in until 10 or 11am, doing a bit of training and then going by boat out into the sea and relaxing.”
Q: What was your first vehicle?
VL: “I was always passionate about cars from the time I started kart racing. And from the first money I made there I bought a Mercedes SLK 200. That was quite a big thing for me at that time. Unfortunately I crashed it after six months, so the pleasure was rather a short one.”
Q: What’s the most embarrassing mistake that you’ve ever made?
VL: “I’ve made quite a few, but I have the gift of being able to erase it immediately from my memory!”
Q: What is the best thing that you can cook?
VL: “Meat – on the teppanyaki grill. I like to cook in the Japanese style.”
Q: When was the last time you were really angry?
VL: “In Spa when I had a problem on the car and we couldn’t find the cause for it. In such moments I can freak out because I know that I can’t do anything to solve the problem.”