A contrite and enlightened Max Verstappen has completed the ‘punishment‘ dished out by the FIA in the wake of his tantrum after the Brazilian Grand Prix, whereupon he pushed Esteban Ocon in the driver weigh-in area after the race in which the Frenchman recklessly punted the Red Bull out of the lead at Interlagos that day.
The FIA felt that the Dutchman needed to be punished for his behaviour and slapped him with community service for his sins, which he has now completed.
The first day of his ‘punishment’ was to attend, all expenses paid, a trip to the Marrakesh ePrix in January where he survived observing officials go about their business of officiating a motor race.
The second leg of his chastening took place when attended the FIA International Stewards Programme in Geneva on Saturday whereby he took part in a number of interactive case study sessions.
Once again, as he was after the first ordeal, the errant Red Bull driver was humble and very understanding of the challenges of being a race steward, “We [drivers] doing our job on the track, trying to get the best out of the race, and it’s clear that the stewards are doing their job to find the best way to reach a fair decision.”
“It’s been a good lesson and I’ve learned a lot, both in my day in Marrakesh, which I really enjoyed and which gave me a good understanding of the stewards and now here. I think it’s also good to be a part of this event.”
Only time will tell if this ‘sentence’ was merely a worthless slap on the wrist, hardly punishment enough to keep Verstappen from losing his head again…
Big Question: Will Max learn from his ‘punishment’?