Verstappen 'had a good time' at FIA punishment

Max Verstappen smiled as he said he had a "good time" serving his community service handed down by the FIA over the winter break. The Red Bull driver received the penalty for violently confronting Esteban Ocon after last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

His first day of punishment occurred at the Formula E race in Morocco, where he had to observe the stewards.

"It was not that bad," the Dutchman is quoted by De Telegraaf newspaper.

"I had a nice day in Marrakesh. I sat with the stewards all day long.

"Vitantonio Liuzzi was also there, so we talked a bit about karting and the past. I entertained myself as well. If you have to go, you might as well make the best of it."

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He then moved on to Geneva, for a big meeting of FIA stewards.

"All the stewards from around the world were there, and I even saw Jens Marquardt and Andy Priaulx, which was good to meet them. There's nothing wrong with that," said Verstappen.

When asked what he learned from the community service, Verstappen smiled: "I just had a good time. I also saw Formula E in real life. I heard how the stewards think about things, where usually I see them for 10 minutes. This time it was 10 hours."

As for his new Red Bull-Honda, Verstappen said the team is yet to show its full performance but revealed that the car is "not bad".

"We do not have much to say right now. We just have to make sure the car is fast," he added.

And when asked about the new front wings designed to make overtaking easier in 2019, Verstappen answered: "Actually, it is just 15 million euros flushed down the drain."

"They thought we would lose a lot of downforce, but that's not the case at all. You can already see the laptimes here," he said in Barcelona. "We are already very fast."

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