Formula 1 steward Vitanontio Liuzzi has defended the FIA’s much-maligned President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, claiming he “wants the best for everyone”.
Liuzzi, who raced in F1 between 2005 and 2011, has put his head above the parapet and gone against the grain in publicly defending Ben Sulayem, whose position has been under question for some time particularly after the removal of several key figures within the organisation, including longstanding steward Tim Mayer and F1 Race Director Niels Wittich.
Speaking on The Inside Line podcast, Liuzzi reiterated his faith in the President, stating that his best interests are for all parties involved, but did hint of a change in his position at some stage down the line.
“I cannot really say much. Obviously, there is a lot of discussion about this position,” he said. “Obviously, I think that the position can be changing in the future. Maybe it will change a little bit, and I’m sure that the president is talking closely with the team because we all want things to move forward in a better way,”
“I’m sure that the president is talking with F1 to find the best solution for all of us. Obviously, we prefer that it will be a position a little bit different, but whatever the decision is, it will be good for both of us. For both of us, I mean Formula 1 and FIA.”
Liuzzi defends ‘great’ FIA stewards
Liuzzi also responded to criticism of the lack of consistency from stewards on decisions made during races, which became a hot button issue towards the end of last season in particular.
“It’s a great group [the stewards], and we are working well together,” he said. “Sometimes, you cannot make everybody happy because everybody will like to dive into another take, they have different points of view. But at the end of the day, I think every race we are looking at is an amazing competition, an amazing show, and this is good for the sport.”
The Italian also claimed that the infamous 2021 rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has added an additional element of danger to the sport, saying: “I want to let them race or let them race harder, let them race for the show, but we have to let them race in a safe way, so we can mix the two things.
“This is our let’s say, fine line when we need to understand where this can end up too much.
“I believe that in 2021 you know, Hamilton and Verstappen raised up the level of competition, because it was an amazing season, maybe one of the most beautiful of the last 20 years. But obviously they brought it to a more dangerous [level]…
“In Monza it could have end up in a more dangerous situation, the year after Budapest was quite dangerous. We don’t want to, let’s say, be linked on luck. We want to be super safe for the good of the sport and of the drivers that are in the car.
“And I think we are working super well. We have a great show. We just want that is all more clear for the drivers for how they can handle the competition.”
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