Italian 'hot-shot' Vitantonio Liuzzi won the 2004 FIA F3000 Championship at the weekend, with one (Monza) still to run.

Much like Michael Schumacher, the Arden International driver failed to secure the title with a race win, having to settle for second place behind Robert Doornbos.

Due to the atrocious conditions the race was started Behind the safety car, with Doornbos taking the lead from pole man Liuzzi when the race proper got underway a lap later.

Despite handling problems, which saw him drop to third, Liuzzi had a fairly uneventful race and seemed happy to settle for second. Enrico Toccacelo, the only man capable of preventing the Italian taking the championship, had a disastrous race and finally finished third. Renault RDD driver, Jose Maria Lopez, drove a strong race to finish third.

Liuzzi has been the subject of F1 paddock gossip for some time, with several teams showing an interest. Although linked with Ferrari, Jean Todt has said that there has been no contact, nor is there likely to be.

That said, it's widely speculated that the Italian could be seen at the wheel of a Sauber next season, since he clearly falls into the "young and wild" category recently described by Peter Sauber. Having lost out on Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari might want to see Liuzzi 'cut his teeth' at Sauber before bringing him on-board at Maranello.