Tonio Liuzzi’s Saturday has gone from bad to worse with news that the Italian will be forced to start five places further back from his fifteenth place qualifying position.
Liuzzi’s car faces a gear-box change after crashing heavily on the start-finish straight during Q2.
The Force India driver was taken to the medical centre at Interlagos for precautionary checks, but sustained no injuries as a result of the accident.
In other news Toyota Team President, John Howett has revealed that the team are in advanced negotiations with Kimi Raikkonen for next season. Speaking to the BBC, Howett claimed that talks between the two sides are currently stalled because of Raikkonen’s management asking for more money.
Toyota’s admission is in complete contrast to some sections of the media which have previously stated that the 30-year-old Finn has already signed a contract to return to McLaren.
Jenson Button’s Brawn GP future is also not secure for next season, despite leading the world championship. It has been reported by the Daily Mail that the Brit has decided to wait until after the season to finalise a possible deal, with financial issues also thought to be the stumbling block.
However if Button does not become champion this weekend in Brazil he can expect to be given a fair fight from his team-mate, Rubens Barrichello. This is according to team boss, Ross Brawn, who told Autosport after qualifying that having his two drivers contest the championship in Abu Dhabi would be a “fitting finale to the season.”
Meanwhile The Times is reporting that the British bank, Lloyds, is considering buying a minority stake in the new Manor team. Although the speculated deal would not include sponsorship, the Virgin-backed team is reported to be willing to sell a £15 million share to the troubled bank.
The news will surely create controversy as Lloyds is nearly half-owned by the British taxpayer.
Manor may also welcome Bruno Senna into its team next season after the Brazilian told Reuters that he was in negotiations with the team.
Senna, nephew of the legendary three-time champion Ayrton, also admitted that he was in contact with a number of other teams and was a “good condition” with fellow newbies Campos Meta.
Finally Jarno Trulli was reprimanded by the Brazilian Grand Prix stewards, after today’s qualifying session. The Toyota driver was deemed to have impeded the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi in the final section of the session, but will go unpunished after stewards deemed that poor visibility was the cause of the incident.
