The Secret Life of Vitantonio Liuzzi 28 Sep 2010
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.
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