The Hispania Racing Team announced Vitantonio Liuzzi to take part in the 2011 championship as its second driver. With this appointment, the Spanish team’s line-up was completed for the new season with the Italian driver joining Narain Karthikeyan behind the wheel of the F111.

Liuzzi had started making a name for himself in the late nineties, emerging as one of the brightest talents in karting and single-seater racing. In 2004, Liuzzi stepped up to F3000 where he stormed to the championship in a season that included seven wins out of ten races.

This impressed Red Bull who signed him up as its test and reserve driver for the 2005 season. He got his first taste of competitive Formula 1 that same year when he replaced Christian Klien for the San Marino, Spanish and Monaco GPs. He showed his potential by scoring his maiden point (8th place) on his debut at San Marino.

In 2006 and 2007, the Italian raced for Toro Rosso achieving his highest ever placing: 6th at the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix. Liuzzi moved on to Force India where he stayed from 2008 to 2010. With the team, Liuzzi equalled his best finish of sixth at the 2010 Korean GP and ended 2010 in 15th scoring 21 points, a career best. His performance, though career best was greatly overshadowed by the performance of his team mate Adrian Sutil who can boast of having points par with veteran Rubens Barrichello. Replaced by the reserve driver, Liuzzi’s career was dangling on a weak thread till mere weeks from the Season start.

After exiting a rising star like Force India and having to join probably the weakest team on the grid isn’t the direction no driver wants to take. Will Liuzzi’s career just continue downhill and spiral to oblivion or will this slight breath of life rejuvenate his career?