Max Verstappen will serve his community service sentence for swearing at the FIA press conference in Rwanda, where Formula 1’s governing body holds its end-of-season awards this week.
Verstappen will be officially crowned 2024 world champion on Friday night at the annual FIA awards, which will be held in Africa for the first time this year, in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, and will do some work with young racers as part of his visit.
The Red Bull driver has been awarded the F1 equivalent of community service at September’s Singapore Grand Prix after he used an expletive at a press conference on Thursday to describe his Red Bull car’s performance at the previous event.
At the event, stewards said that while Verstappen’s language was considered “crude, crude” and “might cause offence”, it was noted that his words were not directed at any individual or group.
However, the ruling said that “as this subject has been raised before and is well known by competitors”, Verstappen was given a “larger penalty” than previously imposed in similar circumstances and that the Dutchman “will be obliged to perform”. some work of public interest”.
The FIA statement said: “The FIA has released details of Max Verstappen’s ‘public interest’ duties in relation to the stewards’ fine for using inappropriate language during the drivers’ press conference at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
“Verstappen will travel to the FIA Awards next week in Kigali, Rwanda as part of the General Assembly to collect his fourth consecutive FIA Formula 1 World Championship trophy.
“The event will feature an affordable FIA cross car built locally in Rwanda by the RAC from blueprints provided by the FIA.
“Design projects for the Accessible Cross Machine Level 2 category have been provided to a global network of 147 National Sports Authorities (ASNs).”
The punishment comes after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in an interview published earlier in the day that he wanted to see less driver swearing broadcast on F1’s global television channel and that the sport’s stars had a responsibility learn their language as well.
In protest at his sanction, Verstappen limited his answers to questions at FIA press conferences in Singapore in his two subsequent appearances and instead held his own media sessions with reporters where he gave longer answers.
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