2
Max Verstappen has been made to perform his 'public service' punishment at the Formula E-Prix in Marrakech this weekend, and Sam Bird has said he believes that it sends the wrong message to people about the championship.
Verstappen was ordered to two days of service following an incident with Esteban Ocon last November. The Dutchman was leading the Brazilian Grand Prix when he came into contact with Ocon, who was attempting to unlap himself. At the weigh-in room after the race, Verstappen swapped some harsh words with the Frenchman before pushing him several times.
Bird, the Virgin driver who started the race on Saturday on pole has taken issue with this ruling: “I mean, to call coming to Formula E race ‘community service’ I think does Formula E a bit of an injustice,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. "t 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,” Bird added.
Verstappen managed to earn himself more penalties last year than any of his rivals, and has admitted that the time he has spent with the stewards this weekend has proven to be useful.
“It’s interesting to see it from the other side,” said the Red Bull driver in a statement released by the championship. “Normally you can’t spend an entire day with the stewards.
“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.”
When asked what he thought about the championship, 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.”
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
M. Verstappen
C. Sainz jr
C. Leclerc
Bahrain
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
Australia
Albert Park
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
724,056 comments on Red Bull Racing
966 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Max Verstappen
767,999 comments on Red Bull Racing 673 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Red Bull Racing
Replies (2)
Login to replyboudy
Posts: 1,168
So this really points to how much F1 wanted to punish Verstappen. They actually didn't want to hand out any punishment to Verstappen. Nor do I think that he needed any.
MosyB
Posts: 324
it is not about the race or racing class. it is about the "disrespect" that Verstappen showed to the stewards at several races during the last years. the only way to do that is to have him with the stewards at different racing class.. BTW, the punishment was also a bit weird..