Q&A with Vitantonio Liuzzi before Sepang

Points for the second race in a row in Australia! How was the race for you?

The car was getting better and better the more the track was drying up. We suffered a lot of understeer at the beginning, but the front wing adjuster was working well, and we were able to tune it a little bit more and get closer to optimum set-up during the race. The final 15 laps were quite hard because Barrichello did a two-stop strategy, and was closing the gap really fast, but I was trying to manage the rear tyres and trying to control the car behind me, and it worked out. I’m obviously really happy as it confirms what I said from the beginning of the year, that I am back and I am ready for big results as long as the car stays together and gives me the possibility. I had a really strong race when I came back in Monza last year, and we are scoring points now. I just want to give back as much as I can to the team because they believed in me.

Where is the pace of the team now relative to the rest of the field?

Unfortunately to match Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren’s speed is difficult for us, but the team is working really hard. For us the main competitor at the beginning seemed to be Renault, but now they’ve made a big step forward. I think it will be our main target to try to catch them in Malaysia to beat them in the championship. For sure it won’t be easy because they are a great team and they will develop. But we are working hard back at Silverstone, and working well.

Any thoughts on Malaysia?

I think it will be a very interesting race for us, although it will be really hot and really difficult! But the track should suit more the characteristics of our car, so I think we’ll be in an interesting position. I’ve got to work on my qualifying performance and try and get into Q3 for the first time and then, of course, keep those points coming.