Force India believes Vitantonio Liuzzi can deliver on his promise in Formula 1 this year if he learns from the lessons of last season.
The Italian was promoted to a race seat at the Silverstone-based team at the end of of 2009, in the wake of Giancarlo Fisichella's switch to Ferrari. But despite an impressive start on his return to racing in the Italian Grand Prix, he failed to live up to that form in the remainder of the season and did not score a point. Now, having the security of a race seat for the full season, Force India's CEO Otmar Szafnauer has backed Liuzzi and his teammate Adrian Sutil to make great strides in 2010.
"Adrian is a great asset. He's very talented, and he's fast and fearless, and he'll gain from the experience he now has," said Szafnauer. "If Tonio can learn from last year, and his confidence is up knowing that he's got a regular seat now, he has great potential."
Liuzzi will be under pressure this year to show his worth, with Force India having signed Paul di Resta as reserve driver and promising him some runs in Friday practice.
Speaking about the Briton's future, Szafnauer said: "He's a young driver with a lot of potential, and we're going to work with him to maximize that potential. And that should be to the benefit of this team. He can help us in simulator testing, and he should be doing some Friday testing just to get familiar with the car and hone his skills. And then we'll see about the future."