F1 steward justifies Verstappen's punishment: 'Could have been worse'

Vitantonio Liuzzi, who raced in Formula 1 between 2005 and 2011 with Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Force India, was one of the stewards who imposed a grid penalty on Max Verstappen. The Italian explains the decision in La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Very optimistic manoeuvre

Liuzzi had been appointed driver steward at Monza. In this role, it's up to him to show the other stewards, who don't need to have any racing experience, an incident from the drivers' point of view. "As a driver, I explain the dynamics to the other stewards and together we then assess who is responsible for the incident," he explained in La Gazzetta dello Sport. In addition to Liuzzi, Tim Mayer, Garry Connelly and Paolo Longoni were also appointed stewards.

It was the same way at Monza when Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen collided. "As it was in the verdict, it was a very optimistic manoeuvre by Max, with a forced overtake," he justified the grid penalty for Verstappen. In addition, the Dutchman received two penalty points on his license.

Tensions between Mercedes and Red Bull

So far, Liuzzi is enjoying the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen though. "There are two great drivers and two great teams, but it is true that it would be better to set the tone a bit lower, also because in Silverstone and Monza it could have been worse."

Despite Hamilton and Verstappen receiving penalties for their actions at Silverstone and Monza, Liuzzi still sees these as racing incidents, but things shouldn't get worse. "At the moment it remains race incidents and it can happen that one of the drivers makes a mistake when they both go to the limit. The reality is that we are witnessing a good duel between two great champions for the title, as hasn't happened in a long time."