Max Verstappen attended this weekend’s Formula E race in Morocco as part of the punishment handed down to him for an altercation with Esteban Ocon at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
The FIA said Verstappen was at the Marrakesh E-Prix — the second race of the all-electric series’ current season — “as an observer to the stewards, closely following their work at a top-level international motor sport event as part of the educational and informative approach taken by the FIA in this matter”.
The Red Bull driver was told by the sport’s governing body he must serve two days of community service for pushing Ocon multiple times after the Force India driver had punted him out of the lead of the race last November. The incident ultimately cost Verstappen victory and forced him to settle for second behind Lewis Hamilton.
“It’s interesting to see it from the other side – normally you can’t spend an entire day with the stewards,” he said. “Everybody does their own job during the weekend, and it’s good to really see what it takes to make these important decisions – sometimes a decision might not be nice for a certain person but it has to be taken and you have to follow the rules.
“I think it’s good to experience different things in racing rather than just sitting in the car – to be here and do this kind of work has been a constructive thing for me.
Speaking about the series itself, he said: “I’ve of course followed Formula E a bit on TV but I’ve never been in the paddock, and I really enjoyed the day.
“First of all it was a really exciting race. The championship is clearly growing and there are a lot of manufacturers here, so I think it’s a cool series.”
It is yet to be confirmed what Verstappen’s second day of community service will consist of or when it will take place.