Former driver who published Red Bull rumour now appointed FIA race steward

A notable name sits among the FIA stewards during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Luciano Burti is listed as the 'national steward'. The timing of his appearance is particularly noteworthy.

Before each Grand Prix weekend, four stewards are appointed by the FIA. For the race weekend in Brazil, they are Dr Gerd Ennser, Loïc Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Luciano Burti. The appearance of the last steward is particularly noteworthy. Burti is a Brazilian and former F1 driver but was recently in the news because of the rumours he published in an article.

Burti was the author of the piece that appeared on O Globo about the power struggle at Red Bull Racing. The Brazilian was the one who first spoke about the power struggle and the fact that Christian Horner wanted to say goodbye to Helmut Marko. Since then, Red Bull Racing has denied all rumours, but the fact that a public speaker is given such a role by the FIA is remarkable.

Burti competed in Formula 1 for Jaguar and Prost in 2000 and 2001. He entered five races for Jaguar and another 10 GPs for Prost. His best final ranking was an eighth place, scoring no points at the time. Burti drove in several other racing classes but mainly returned to prominence as an F1 commentator for Brazilian TV Globo. So in addition, he apparently also holds a position within the FIA. At least for the weekend in Sao Paulo, his hometown.