Former driver Vitantonio Liuzzi now serves as an FIA steward in Formula 1. The ex-Red Bull racer also hands out penalties for misbehaviour on track. In a new interview the Italian reveals it can sometimes be pretty tricky to hand Max Verstappen an appropriate penalty. According to Liuzzi, the Dutchman always manages to position himself in such a way that it is often unclear how an incident should be analysed.
In a guest appearance on the Italian podcast series Scontro Diretto, Vitantonio Liuzzi explained how Max Verstappen can give the stewards headaches. He was asked what advice he would give the 2025 title contenders — Norris, Verstappen and Piastri. “Max simply won’t listen to you,” Liuzzi replied straight away. “He doesn’t care what other people say about him.” For the two McLaren drivers he did have a useful tip. “To them I’d say they should rewatch every race to study exactly what Max does. He always makes life difficult for them and often forces his own luck.”
‘Max is a war machine’
“That’s why I’d advise them to re-examine and study the overtaking regulations thoroughly,” Liuzzi continued. “Then, for example, Piastri would have positioned himself better in Brazil,” he referred to the crash between the McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc in São Paulo. “If he’d copied Verstappen’s example, he would have put himself in a better position. I’m not saying what’s right or wrong, but with Max it’s clear that for every overtaking move — even when he’s being passed — he thinks carefully about how he positions himself on the track. That way he always gets the maximum out of it.”
Even when Verstappen is involved in an incident, he often makes it difficult for the stewards to hand down a fitting penalty. “Max is a war machine,” Liuzzi concluded. “He makes it hard for us to analyse the situation, because he’s always on the edge. With other drivers, incidents are often clearer and easier to deal with.” Liuzzi — who himself possesses a wealth of racing experience — knows what he’s talking about. In 2004 he was champion in a precursor to Formula 2, after which he worked as a Red Bull reserve. He later raced for Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT. After his Formula 1 career he spent many years racing in sports cars.
