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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.Career Highlights 1991: Commenced Karting career 1993: Won the Italian Karting Championship 1994: CRG Factory Junior Team - 2nd place Italian Karting Championship 1995: Victory in prestigious Lonato Winter Cup 2nd place World Karting Championship 2nd place Italian Karting Championship 5th place European Karting Championship 1996: Graduated to Junior Intercontinental A category with Factory CRG Team Victory Lonato Winter Cup - 2nd place Margutti Trophy, Parma Victory Italian Karting Championship 1997: Entered senior Formula A category Victory Brazilian Karting Prix, Sao Paulo 2nd place Italian Karting Championship 7th place Karting World Championship 1998: Formula Super A (Karting's F1 equivalent) 3rd Overall European Karting Championship 7th place Karting World Championship (started 28th – due to mechanical problems) 1999: Victory at Val D’Argenton, second Round European Karting Championship Victory Ayrton Senna Memorial Trophy (Suzuka) Formula Palmer Audi Test Drive – Outright Fastest Lap of test 2000: 6th place Karting World Championship in Braga, Portugal 2nd place Karting World Cup (Montegi) 3rd place 125cc World Championship (Mariembourg) Formula 3 test drive with the Dutch Team Van Amersfoort 2001: FIA-CIK Karting World Champion (conducted over five events) 2nd place German Formula Renault Championship – first car season 2002: 9th place German Formula 3 Championship Victory San Marino International Formula 3 race Three pole positions Test Formula 3000 – Coloni Motorsport Tested Formula 1 - BMW Williams F1 Team 2003: FIA F3000 International Championship – Coloni Motorsport Second place in fifth F3000 International race Qualifying:- Pole in Hungary by 0.47 seconds, Hockenheim - 2nd, six other times in top five Finished 4th in Championship, highest placed rookie 2004: FIA F3000 International Champion – Arden International Seven wins from ten races - all time F3000 record Nine pole positions 2005: Formula 1 World Championship Third driver with Red Bull Racing 2006: Formula 1 World Championship Driver with Scuderia Toro Rosso, 8th place in Indianapolis, USA, scores the first and so far only point of the team 2007: Formula 1 World Championship Driver with Scuderia Toro Rosso
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