Formula 1: HRT to practice with Vitantonio Liuzzi in Barcelona
Former Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is all set to be a part of the pre-season testing at Barcelona with Hispania Racing Team which begins on Friday.
The test at Barcelona will be a chance for Liuzzi to prove his worth to HRT in order to earn a seat with them as they are the only team without a complete driver line-up for the 2011 season.
The Spain-based team had hired former Jordan driver Narain Karthikeyan as their lead driver, but did not announce its second driver.
With the first race of the season just a few weeks away, it is likely that HRT will announce their second driver during the Barcelona testing.
Liuzzi hinted at earning a seat with HRT and said, “Let's just say that there are three opportunities. I'm talking about contacts, not proper negotiations yet and not all of them to race this year, we’ll see.”
On the other hand, a spokesman of HRT claimed that the team is in talks with the Italian driver for a seat in the new season and confirmed that Liuzzi will take part in the third pre-season test, which starts on Friday in Barcelona.
It will be important for HRT to announce their second driver as soon as possible. The driver will have to get used to the setup of the car and there are many other technical things which he will have to familiarise himself with before heading into the season.
HRT was one of the three teams that debuted in the 2010 season. They were not able to perform well as there was very little time for them to develop a strong car.
However, HRT started working on their 2011 car since the start of the previous season just like the two new teams Virgin Racing and Lotus did.
There was sufficient time for the three teams to develop a strong car for the new season and they will be keen on outperforming each other.
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