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Max Verstappen's wheel-to-wheel racing consistently places FIA stewards in difficult positions, according to Vitantonio Liuzzi, the former Formula 1 driver who now serves on the sport's rotating stewarding panel. Speaking after the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Verstappen finished second behind Lando Norris, Liuzzi described the Red Bull driver as a 'war machine' who exploits regulatory grey areas better than any current competitor. The admission offers rare insight into how race control struggles to adjudicate incidents involving the three-time world champion.
Liuzzi's role this season has given him a front-row view of Verstappen's racecraft under scrutiny. His comments follow renewed debate over the Dutchman's aggressive approach, particularly in battles with McLaren's Norris and Oscar Piastri as the championship fight intensifies.
"More than any other driver, Max searches for the limit," Liuzzi said. "He is a real war machine in that respect. For us as stewards, he makes the work incredibly difficult. When we have to judge an incident, he always positions his car precisely on the edge of the regulations."
The regulatory tightrope Verstappen walks
Liuzzi's assessment centres on Verstappen's ability to operate in areas where the rulebook offers interpretation rather than clarity. Where most drivers leave room for error, Verstappen calibrates his positioning to maximise advantage while remaining, in Liuzzi's words, "on the edge" of what is permitted.
"His actions are much harder to analyse than those of most other drivers," the Italian explained. "He regularly puts us in a difficult position, while incidents with others are often much clearer and easier to judge."
The distinction matters because stewarding decisions hinge on whether a driver has acted within the sporting code. Verstappen's racecraft appears designed to complicate that assessment, forcing officials to weigh marginal calls where less experienced or less precise drivers would trigger straightforward penalties.
Advice for Norris and Piastri
Liuzzi reserved his guidance for Verstappen's closest title rivals. Asked what he would tell the Red Bull driver, the steward smiled and said, "Max doesn't need me to tell him anything, because he won't listen anyway. He doesn't care what others say."
For Norris and Piastri, however, Liuzzi offered a tactical recommendation. "I would have them watch all of Max's races again. Study how he drives and how he turns every situation to his advantage. They also need to go through the overtaking rules carefully. Max thinks constantly about his positioning during every duel and knows exactly how to stay within the rules. He masters that like no other."
What it reveals about Verstappen's edge
Liuzzi's remarks underscore a dimension of Verstappen's dominance that extends beyond car performance or raw speed. His understanding of regulatory boundaries functions as a competitive weapon, one that requires officials to deliberate longer and rivals to second-guess their own instincts mid-corner.
The Hungarian Grand Prix highlighted this dynamic. Verstappen's duels with Norris and others prompted post-race analysis not because they were obviously illegal, but because they sat in the ambiguous zone Liuzzi describes. That ambiguity, whether deliberate or instinctive, forces both stewards and opponents to react to him rather than the other way around.
As the 2024 season progresses and McLaren closes the performance gap to Red Bull, Verstappen's ability to exploit regulatory nuance may prove as significant as aerodynamic development. Liuzzi's advice to study the Dutchman's positioning suggests the challenge for Norris and Piastri is not just matching his speed, but learning to operate in the same contested space without crossing the line Verstappen has mapped so precisely.
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