FIA steward Garry Connelly says the controversial decision to deprive Max Verstappen of a podium finish at the 2017 US GP was “one of the toughest decisions” in his career, but one the Australian does not regret.
In Austin in 2017, Verstappen charged through the field from P16 on the grid to claim a remarkable third place behind race winner Lewis Hamilton and runner-up Sebastian Vettel.
The Red Bull driver was fifth with just five laps to go when he overtook Valtteri Bottas for fourth and then snatched P3 from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap.
However, Verstappen had put one over the Finn with a daring maneuver that had seen him exceed track limits and gain an advantage.
The subsequent investigation by the stewards and five-second penalty barred Verstappen from the podium ceremony just minutes before it started, but also sparked outrage among the fans on social media and even in the paddock among Red Bull’s rivals, with Mercedes’ Niki Lauda claiming the stewards’ decision was “the worst” he had ever seen as Verstappen had done “nothing wrong”.
Over three years later, speaking during Saturday’s FIA web conference, Connelly highlighted how stewards must take into account the consequences for both the winning and losing parties involved in an incident, referring to Austin 2017 as a case study to demonstrate his point.
“In deciding we must demonstrate the responsibility to consider not just the side of the alleged offender,” Connelly noted.
“It’s important to think about those who’ve been impacted as well. And I want to give a classic example here that sticks in my mind and my fellow stewards at that event.
“It was the 2017 US Grand Prix, it was the last lap of the race. And Max Verstappen performed a brilliant move, an amazing move, on Kimi Raikkonen. And he overtook him on I think it was the third last turn.
“We had Mika Salo as our driver steward. And Mika is extremely quick on seeing what’s going on on a race track.
“And he said to us immediately that was a brilliant move by Max, but he was off the track by about a metre on the inside of the corner. He left the track to overtake.
FIA steward Garry Connelly