After spending a day with the stewards at the Marrakesh E-Prix, Max Verstappen says he understands that while decisions may not always be nice, “you have to follow the rules.”
The Dutchman attended Saturday’s Formula E race at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan to honour his public service order handed to him by the FIA.
Verstappen was slapped with order after getting physical with Esteban Ocon following their crash at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
And, at least according to his website, Verstappen says he learned something.
“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.”
It was the Red Bull driver’s first upclose experience with Formula E with Verstappen hailing the “cool” racing.
“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.”
However, not everyone was happy with the FIA’s decision to use the Formula E weekend to teach Verstappen a lesson.
Virgin driver Sam Bird told RaceFans: “I mean, to call coming to Formula E race ‘community service’ I think does Formula E a bit of an injustice.
“It shouldn’t be a punishment to come here.
“I hope he enjoyed it and I hope he will give good feedback to some of his colleagues.”
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