HRT’s Vitantonio Liuzzi has been penalised by the Italian race stewards following his accident at the start of Sunday’s Monza race. Liuzzi receives a five-place grid penalty for the next round in Singapore.
He lost control of his car going into Turn One, before sliding on the grass and back on to the track at the chicane. Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes, Vitaly Petrov’s Renault and Liuzzi’s own HRT all had to retire on the spot. After a post-race investigation, the stewards decided the Italian driver was at fault for the accident.
“I was really looking forward to my home race and, although I knew it was going to be tough, it all ended prematurely,” he said after the race. “I had a good start getting past both Virgins, Lotuses and Daniel Ricciardo but then I went for another overtaking manoeuvre and got closed out.
“That put me into the grass and once I was there I tried to slow down but completely lost control of the car and unfortunately hit other cars. I am really sorry for Petrov, Rosberg and the other drivers who were forced to retire because of this. Now it’s over but we are fighters and we have to look ahead to the next race.”
Michael Schumacher (24th, Q1 – no time)
“Well, obviously I would have wished for a different end to today’s qualifying, but it is difficult to drive on three wheels – even if I should have the experience to do so in Spa. Seriously, this is certainly something that should not occur, but then this is also Formula One; we are working at the highest level but still things can happen.
At first, I wasn’t sure what had happened, as I just felt myself lose the back end suddenly which is why I instantly apologised to the team. But then I saw the wheel off the car and understood the reason why I had lost control. Trying to find the good in the bad, I’d probably say that I still have some fresh sets of tyres left, and that there is only one direction to go tomorrow: forward.”
BEST RACING ACCIDENTS EVER 