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Verstappen serves bizarre FIA PUNISHMENT after rule breach

Max Verstappen was handed an uncommon penalty from the FIA

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 14 December 2024 19:57 Updated: 22:40

Red Bull star Max Verstappen has finally served a community service punishment handed to him by the FIA following a rule breach at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Dutchman secured his fourth consecutive drivers' championship following success at the Las Vegas Grand Prix but has endured a much tougher season than he has become accustomed to after dominating the sport in recent years.

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Prior to his stunning victories in Brazil and Qatar as the 2024 season headed towards its conclusion, Verstappen had failed to step on the top step of the podium since winning the Spanish GP back in June.

Christian Horner's team frequently found themselves at the centre of FIA penalty debates this year, most notably for an incident that occurred off-track when Red Bull star Verstappen swore in an FIA press conference.

At the Singapore GP, Verstappen was discussing the poor form of his machinery, stating he knew the car was 'F***ed', language which saw him slapped with a highly unusual community service-style penalty from the sport's governing body.

Max Verstappen was punished for swearing during an FIA press conference at the Singapore GP

Max Verstappen has now served his penalty whilst in Rwanda for the FIA Awards 2024

Verstappen serves FIA punishment

Many felt Verstappen's punishment was highly unusual, with a debate around the topic raging on for weeks, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton branding it as a 'joke'.

However, as the stars of motorsport across a variety of racing series headed to Rwanda for the 2024 FIA awards ceremony, it was revealed that Verstappen would carry out his punishment in Kigali, with the F1 champion working with junior competitors as part of the grassroots development programme organised by the Rwanda Automobile Club (RAC).

During Verstappen's visit, he also witnessed Rwanda's first cross-car and spoke with young drivers and engineers.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said of the visit: "[Max] really fulfilled his promise,"

Giving back to the community. Thank you, Max#FIA pic.twitter.com/2PLq8PkKs8
— FIA (@fia) December 14, 2024

"This is the community service we need every single driver, champion, to do if we want to grow. If we talk about diversity: this is the real diversity. It was not about the car, mainly about the people there.

"I believe maybe in the future we won't have to have it as a penalty. It has to come as a gesture from the drivers and maybe I'll put it on the contract once they get their licence."

Posted on the official FIA account via social media platform 'X', F1's governing body thanked the champion for his community service: "Giving back to the community. Thank you, Max."

Indeed, it seems that despite the nature of Verstappen's penalty, it was a wholesome and inspiring coming together in Rwanda.

It will certainly be interesting to see if drivers follow suit with similar community projects in the future without being obliged to, as the FIA President hopes.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here she realised her background in journalism and love of motorsport could be combined, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work more closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan which she hopes to build on.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen FIA Hamilton Singapore Grand Prix Las Vegas Grand Prix