Liuzzi out to shock

Vitantonio Liuzzi has challenged the new Scuderia Toro Rosso team to shock Formula One and finish on the podium in their debut season.

The ex-Formula 3000 champion, who drove in four races last year with Red Bull Racng, has been given a full season for the new team, set up partly to keep him in the Red Bull family.

The soft-drink giant bought Minardi, renaming it Scuderia Toro Rosso and installing Liuzzi and American Scott Speed as drivers.

Minardi never managed a podium in their 340 races but, with new owners and more financial backing, Liuzzi has targeted a top three in 2006.

“I hope to fight again this year and my target is to try to score as many points as possible and try to get a podium as well,” he said at the Autosport Show in Birmingham.

However, Liuzzi is not underestimating the challenge facing the new team.

They are still based at Minardi’s Faenza headquarters and have set themselves an ambitious target of starting the season with a new car, something Minardi rarely managed.

“For sure this is the biggest challenge that we can get,” he added. “Red Bull bought Minardi and they are rebuilding everything from zero.

“It is a long-term programme and it is really a big challenge for me, Red Bull and the whole team.

“But now they have got hope for the future. They have got the right budget and can push the team to the top of the league.

“It won’t be easy but we are fighting hard already and we are working hard preparing the car for the New Year. It will be ready in a couple of weeks.”