The FIA has confirmed details of how Max Verstappen will complete his ‘community service’ penalty for swearing in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
During the race weekend in September Verstappen was ordered to perform an act of “public work” as punishment for his “misconduct.”Following today’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the FIA confirmed details of the work it requires of Verstappen. It will take place alongside the FIA General Assemblies which will be held in Rwanda’s capital Kigali from Tuesday to Friday this week.
“Verstappen will travel to the FIA Awards Ceremony which takes place as part of the General Assemblies next week in Kigali, Rwanda to collect his fourth consecutive FIA Formula One World Championship trophy,” the FIA noted in a statement.
“While in Kigali he will undertake some work with junior competitors as part of the grassroots development programme organised by the Rwanda Automobile Club (RAC).
“The activity will involve an FIA Affordable Cross Car which was built locally in Rwanda by the RAC from blueprints provided by the FIA. Design blueprints for the Level 2 category Affordable Cross Car project have been delivered to the global network of 147 National Sporting Authorities.”
The FIA launched its Affordable Cross Car programme in June. It is designed to provide an entry point into motorsport for young off-road and rally drivers in developing countries.
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Verstappen drew the FIA’s ire by describing his car as “fucked” during the pre-event press conference in Singapore. Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 (£8,420) last month, half of which was suspended, for swearing in a press conference at the Mexican Grand Prix.
F1 drivers later took issue with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s stance against them swearing in press conferences. They issued a public statement criticising the president and challenging him to explain what the money raised from fines is spent on.
Lando Norris swore in a press conference at the Qatar Grand Prix last week but has not faced any consequences.
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Michael (@freelittlebirds)
8th December 2024, 19:44
What about today’s name calling against the stewards? If you did that in any sport, you could get in huge trouble. I remember Ronaldo getting a 3 match ban for barely touching the ref.
PeteB (@peteb)
8th December 2024, 20:20
I doubt there has been a single professional football match take place in the past decade where a player hasn’t called the ref something!
Doh
8th December 2024, 20:22
If stewards or refs are perfect and therefore not human then I agree with you. If not then there’s no problem.
Osnola
8th December 2024, 20:26
So you are adapting to the standard by some drivers and try hard to get a penalty for….(fill in the dots)
I know verstappen has a big lot rentfree in your head. Must be hard these last 4 years and the looming future . Keep up the faith michael!
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 3:19
He called the stewards “stupid idiots” on the radio and the whole world heard it. In any other sport, you’d be escorted without another word. If they don’t take any action, it validates his point cause only an idiot would not punish someone calling them an idiot as a referee.
Osnola
9th December 2024, 10:23
Trying to follow in georges footsteps i see ;)
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 13:34
Obviously you apply a different set of rules in your support of Max
Matthijs (@matthijs)
10th December 2024, 8:03
@freelittlebirds Yes he did, and he shouldn’t. But in all fairness, he said it to GP, not in the face of the stewards. You mention Ronaldo: when he insults the referee in his face, then he will get a card, but when he tells one of his own players that the referee is an idiot, then there will most likely be no consequences for Ronaldo. I am sure that if Verstappen would have walked up to the stewards and called them names, that there would have been consequences. But he didn’t.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:16
@freelittlebirds One usually gets into trouble for saying something objectionable about the stewards on record in F1, although this is usually a reprimand and/or fine unless it’s a particularly egregious offence (either sustained name-calling or insinuating they have done something improper) or it’s done at a time when adrenaline cannot be cited as a mitigating factor (such as in the stewards’ office). Then it might rise to community service.
I’ve never seen a sporting penalty issued for the offence.
Aaron
8th December 2024, 19:52
That was not at a press conference. He never explicitly mentioned who the idiots were, and he never referred to it as penalty.So, legally, he hasn’t blamed anyone. If you infer he blamed the stewards, that is your prerogative.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
8th December 2024, 20:45
Pathetic penalty pushed by an utterly pathetic, power hungry & undeserving excuse for FIA president.
The FIA used to like dragging teams & at times drivers before them for bringing the sport into disrepute….. I think it’s the current president who should be done away with for that same offence because it is Mohammed Ben Sulayem who is bringing both the sport & the office of president of the FIA into more disrepute than anyone else ever has.
But then given the rules he is seeking to change he would only be brought before himself and since he’s never going to punish himself nothing will be done i guess because he is a joke that is turning the FIA & the sport into a joke.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th December 2024, 19:45
humiliation is a tool of control. Nobody wants to be the clown of the court. It’s just strange they would dunce a world champion in public like that. It shows that the people controlling F1, see the drivers like muppets. IMO. Like they are a medium of projection about how they see the ‘masses’ or something. You can read quite a lot about people’s psychology in how ‘on the spectrum’ of psychopathy some people are. How they treat people like things, quite a lot indeed.
BamBoomBots
8th December 2024, 21:06
I’m sure the people in Rwanda are delighted with the FIA’s efforts to let them race. Surely the burning of more gasoline, that most there can’t even afford, will not make the climate in the region change for the worse.
To have a millionaire fly in on a private jet to support this endeveaour, who doesn’t even want to be there, is even more cynical than I could have imagined.
Jazz (@jazz)
8th December 2024, 22:06
It’s definitely cynical, but it’s not supposed to be pleasant for him. Let him face the consequences of his actions. I can totally get behind punishing a bully.
BamBoomBots
8th December 2024, 22:52
No need to turn it to an insult to those who were dealt a bad hand.
MacLeod (@macleod)
9th December 2024, 7:55
I think your wrong about this Charles gets a fine for the same thing that is not correct (even I am not agreeing with swearing which is a total different mater) and it doesn’t mater if Charles appolize as it’s the same offence.
Lewis
9th December 2024, 8:02
@Jazz, a bully? Could you explain this, or are you just copying George…
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:19
@jazz I think the point was that BamBoomBots considers it to also a punishment for the local people (due to the resulting contribution to climate change), who had nothing to do with the original offence.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:22
(I should say that I do not agree with BamBoomBots’ assessment. If people in Rwanda want to do motorsport, the RAC and FIA are supposed to be there to support them with something that makes sense in the local context. Max was supposed to be in Kigali anyway because the FIA decided to host the FIA Gala there – that’s a rant in itself – so he won’t be generating much extra carbon by visiting the Affordable Car scheme).
MichaelN
8th December 2024, 22:23
Kigali is not a bunch of huts… it’s a big city. The fact that they’re hosting this event there is with good reason.
mrfill (@mrfill)
9th December 2024, 11:45
It isn’t just one millionaire flying in on a private jet. This is the FIA Awards ceremony – part of the FIA General Assembly – so there will be dozens of millionaires (and some billionaires) who will be flying in in their private jets. To suggest that Max ‘doesn’t want to be there’ is utter nonsense as he will be there anyway to receive his champions trophy – as will the Mclaren team to receive the constructors trophy – and all the others are likely to attend as they all enjoy a nice junket. Rwanda has even made noises about staging a GP, which will be the only African GP for many a year, and putting on this event is probably part of this application. Your cynicism is wildly mis-placed.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:23
@mrfill Max may well not want to be there, but the FIA can fine drivers $50,000 if they don’t turn up.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th December 2024, 19:48
Rwanda is being used to exploit mining interests in the Congo. Their current sitting president was trained at Ft Levenworth in the US, and the goings on in the 90’s are completely misrepped in the media. Rwanda is not a place to host the F1 race, there is too much killing and exploitation going on in that country, Conrad’s Dark Heart still beats loudly, as Belgium’s legacy rages on.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
8th December 2024, 21:19
Max gets to go and tell the children of Africa how hard done by he is.
MacLeod (@macleod)
9th December 2024, 7:57
Don’t kidding yourself that will be very rich kids …. probaly richer then Max.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:24
@rdotquestionmark I doubt Max will be allowed to do that. If he isn’t willing to at least pretend to be contrite, he’ll probably not be allowed to talk about the offence that brought him to the project at all.
Just another hole
8th December 2024, 22:23
Perhaps it should be a penalty for the FOM, because they are the ones who listen to and review all comments over the radio before they hit the public feed. These guys think we’re all born yesterday.
M2X
8th December 2024, 23:47
All of this lost any value the moment they let Charles Leclerc off.
And it only further emphasized the arbitrary nature of stewarding to a point where the appearance of bias is present.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
9th December 2024, 2:19
See their reasoning makes sense??? Not directed at an individual, race, religion or group so it deserves a harsher penalty. Huh???
Now do I see a problem with an individual or sporting group imposing forced, unpaid labour in a foreign land a problem. Well yeah I do.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:27
@davedai That’s not what the FIA said.
Not aiming the language at specific groups was mitigation.
The fact that everyone by this point was familiar with the concept of the penalty system for this offence and it was still being roundly ignored was aggravation.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
10th December 2024, 0:55
That is precisely what the stewards said. It is from their decision document, which as we both know is made independently of the FIA.
The FIA determined as I said and I do not resile from. No driver should be forced into any controlled behaviour by the FIA.
Nor have their championship presentation night.diminished in this way. I do not believe each subsequent “breach” by any driver should attract a harsher penalty.
MV and most if not all drivers do participate in voluntary community service. This is simply a power play.
$30trillion claim from Carribean nations.you would think.would be a hint that people aren’t owned by others or can be forced into actions. No way am I equating the two. Using power to demean or control others was not and is not ever acceptable.
So we shall disagree.
.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
9th December 2024, 21:25
They didn’t let Charles Leclerc off, and their handling of the matter rather highlighted how badly-thought out the entire idea was. (By penalising Charles at all, the FIA told everyone that in certain contexts, drivers will be required to lie in press conferences, which defeats the point of holding them at all).
Leo B
9th December 2024, 12:30
What the Kigali is F1 doing in Ruwanda?
The Dolphins
9th December 2024, 19:35
This is the second time Max has been given community service by the FIA