Klien and Liuzzi sign for Redbull (merged)

Marbot · 5 Jan 2005, 15:12 (Ref:1193653)

www.grandprix.com and www.f1racing.net say that both drivers(Klien,Liuzzi) have signed for next season,though in what capacity is anyones guess,but my guess is that if Klien shows well he will partner Liuzzi in 2006 so long as Liuzzi shows well against DC who will partner either Liuzzi or Klien in 2006 depending on which shows best.....confused, you will be.

Logrence · 5 Jan 2005, 15:14 (Ref:1193656)

This Mateschitz chap must be driving that poor Jag lot up the wall - he wants to run Liuzzi and Klien at alternate races, apparently.

JohnMiller · 5 Jan 2005, 15:20 (Ref:1193660)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logrence

This Mateschitz chap must be driving that poor Jag lot up the wall - he wants to run Liuzzi and Klien at alternate races, apparently.

Yes, well, he can't do any worse running the team than it was run in 2002/3/4, can he?

Nicholosophy · 5 Jan 2005, 15:30 (Ref:1193665)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logrence

This Mateschitz chap must be driving that poor Jag lot up the wall - he wants to run Liuzzi and Klien at alternate races, apparently.

In some ways it is utterly nuts.

It also sounds like something Paul Stoddart would organise. Except he'd have one driver all year, and a different 2nd driver every race, and to get into the 2nd driver seat you'd ahve to do a friday drive the race before (1st race excepted)...

Gabrio · 5 Jan 2005, 15:34 (Ref:1193666)

From what I've heard (although I cannot be certain), it's more a question of Klien starting the season with performance-related clauses. If he does not perform, Liuzzi could inherit the seat starting from Imola.

Kicking-back · 5 Jan 2005, 16:07 (Ref:1193684)

That's what I heard to Gabrio.

Makes sense - keeps Liuzzi involved, but gives Klien a chance rather than dropping him too soon.

Super Tourer · 5 Jan 2005, 16:14 (Ref:1193696)

Klien can't run on Friday testing as he is 'too experienced' having contested last season and therefore more than the 6 race criteria (how crazy is that rule - you can't run a driver with 1 years experience, yet McLaren can run Wurz who has 1,000's of km's under his belt!)

I digress, if they want to run all three drivers in some capacity then Klien will have to be nominated for the no2 seat alongside DC, with Luizzi as test driver. If they alternate, under the spirit of the rule surely Klien would not be able to take the 3rd driver role on the weekend Luizzi is 2nd racer driver?

Alternating makes no sense, so I think that as per the last post Klien will start with performance related contract with Luizzi in the wings. Personally, I would go with Luizzi and DC, but then Klien would be redundant due to the rules and RBR are not likely to do much testing outside a race weekend once the season is up and running. But then again, I'm not paying for it....

Redlake27 · 5 Jan 2005, 16:30 (Ref:1193716)

I think it makes sense. Red Bull are two drivers of similar promise, don't have the budget for the sort of huge test programme that allowed Davidson or Pizzonia to impress last year, but don't want to lose either driver until they have made an informed judgement.

With 19 races in the calendar, they will both have an opportunity to impress.

Rennen · 5 Jan 2005, 16:53 (Ref:1193730)

There's a lot more to this F1 lark than just jumping in the race car...Klien should have done a year as a Friday tester, instead of being throw in at the deep end. Appart from a few novice errors he did quite well. He'll start the year off with a lot more wisdom and experience and will learn a lot off DC even if it's only via shared info between their respective enginners.

Liuzzi is a driver I watched in International karting and is definatly a driver talent, but F3000 doesn't make you a Grand Prix driver!...I think you'll find him as the teams 'ManFriday' and learning loads ready for later in the year for a guest appearance, and ready for '06.

Not sure I share 'Redlake27' optimisum that anyone could "impress" with a Red Bull liveried JAG R6 Cosworth! Mind you with the new low downforce rules and 'wooden tyres' (going to have to be to last a whole GP!) the R6...Sorry RB1...Haha! it might by luck have the balance/grip level to be there at the end of the race if it's drivers hav'nt shafted it's tyres!

Glen · 5 Jan 2005, 17:03 (Ref:1193741)

The Jaguar had a long-standing tyre wear problem as it is, so unless that is a priority in the latest design they'll be struggling - which means that any RB driver can only really be judged against the other RB driver on the day.

Knowlesy · 5 Jan 2005, 17:46 (Ref:1193773)

Klien has until San Marino to prove himself?

Oh that's fair isn't it.

Kicking-back · 5 Jan 2005, 17:51 (Ref:1193779)

Knowlesy - it's only speculation that that will be the case.

I believe Klien will be in the race seat for the majority of the season.

Knowlesy · 5 Jan 2005, 17:58 (Ref:1193790)

We said the same about Burti in 2001 though.

Must remember this is a different team however. I'll give them a chance!

ralf fan · 5 Jan 2005, 18:05 (Ref:1193797)

Well Klein did enough to deserve a second chance... lets hope he does well

BootsOntheSide · 5 Jan 2005, 19:50 (Ref:1193930)

Starting the season with Klien as #2 and Liuzzi as Friday tester, but having a clause in Klien's contract requiring him to perform to keep his seat for the whole season, makes the most sense. Liuzzi has less F1 experience than a lot of F3000 champions have had, and he's a rgeat prospect who needs to be nurtured properly. Klien's rookie season was good under the circumstances, and DC could be the ideal driver for both he and Tonio to learn from.

Rich R · 5 Jan 2005, 19:52 (Ref:1193932)

it seems the best compromise for red bull, they keep both their contracted drivers, and if klein is dissapointing this year they can call on liuzzi without having lost him to another team.

Silk Cut Jaguar · 5 Jan 2005, 22:51 (Ref:1194070)

If Klien has got a performance related contract he has to worry about not being outpaced by Coulthard by anything other than a tiny margin aswell as finishing the races... all with an axe over his head. Yet another season of being hurled into the deep end and told to swim.

Whereas Liuzzi just has to bang in a few decent Friday times for Mr. Red Bull to suddenly decide he's better.

Klien proved his worth last season, I hope he manages to keep the momentum and his seat.

Dixie Flatline · 5 Jan 2005, 22:56 (Ref:1194074)

The drive should probably go to Klien, at least to begin with, and I recall Mateschitz saying before Christmas that it would be logical that he would get the drive, given his year in Formula One in '04.

Jaguar's boss said mid-season in '04 that he wished Klien would have been the third/test driver in '04, but they needed the funds from Red Bull, and Red Bull dictated that Klien would be a race driver.

It would therefore seem to me that the most appropriate course for Red Bull to take, given that DC has been snapped up, is to put the guy with the experience and some talent to stabilise the team in '05. Liuzzi would seem to me to be a guy they would take on full-time in '06, unless Klien doesn't come up to scratch this season.

Funnily enough, when my wife and I were at the '04 Aussie GP looking for autographs, we saw DC up one end of the autograph place, but he didn't come down our end because, guess who?, Christian Klien was down our end signing autographs. BTW, Christian had already mastered the art of initialling his signature rather than doing it fully.

Teretonga · 6 Jan 2005, 00:32 (Ref:1194168)

rennen
Whats wrong with 'wooden' tyres? In Jack Brabhams biography he says that in the early sixties a set of tyres would last you two GP's! Thats practise, race, practise, race-before they had to change them! It was only towards the end of the one and a half litre formula when tyre technology really started to expand that the routine of using a set per race started to happen. Maybe those 'old days' boys were a lot more capable than we give them credit for...

Glen · 6 Jan 2005, 09:41 (Ref:1194346)

Teretonga

You fail to consider the massive difference in the way they go racing now - if the rules say that tyres must last one race, then they will last exactly one race, and not an inch further! Early sixties tyres coud be used and abused - that's WHY they lasted two meetings... but now the scientists will calculate precisely what they can get away with and the drivers will have to be perfect over the entire distance to extract the maximum performance, or they will not get their results. Any decent driver can cane a car in drifts and slides all day long if they know that there is no penalty for doing so.

Dan Fielden · 6 Jan 2005, 17:58 (Ref:1194628)

Red bull have announced that they have signed Klien and Liuzzi. They both have signed an identical contract according to www.f1.com.

Whats going to happen

Ure thoughts

BootsOntheSide · 6 Jan 2005, 18:19 (Ref:1194636)

The most interesting aspect of this is that, judging by what is being reported, both drivers have been promised some races. Klien certainly can't do the 3rd driver role at races Liuzzi started, but surely if Liuzzi does 6 races over the course of the season, he couldn't do the role after that? The most likely 3rd driver for those races could be Scott Speed, who's very much a Red Bull man. Maybe DC won't do the entire season if he faisl to perform?

**GTRMagic** · 6 Jan 2005, 19:42 (Ref:1194676)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Fielden

Red bull have announced that they have signed Klien and Liuzzi. They both have signed an identical contract according to www.f1.com.

Whats going to happen

Ure thoughts

They will be played off against one another, in a cycle of fear... where the drivers will be put under ENORMOUS pressure to perform....

I suspect one of the two will be gooooooonnnneeee by midseason....

Kicking-back · 6 Jan 2005, 19:53 (Ref:1194687)

I don't think that will be the case GTR Magic - now that Christian Horner is involved too, the team would have nothing to gain by screwing its drivers,

Rich R · 6 Jan 2005, 20:10 (Ref:1194711)

but having his former boss at arden in charge at rbr can only help strenghthen liuzzi's case i'd imagine.

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