ax Verstappen handled his FIA community service well, despite initial nerves. Ben Sulayem dismissed claims of harsh tasks, like cleaning toilets.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem aims to instill in drivers the importance of being polite at all times, even in their cars and in the heat of the moment. While Max Verstappen was penalized for harsh words last year, the FIA president was pleased to see him stressed.
He explains that the four-time world champion, sentenced to community service, did not know what his punishment would be. The president finds it amusing that people thought this community service would resemble the usual penalties given to citizens.
“I see them as my children,” Ben Sulayem said about the drivers. “Look at Verstappen and his punishment with community service—people thought the FIA president was going to send him to clean toilets.”
“I spoke to him in Qatar; he was nervous. I suggested he be an inspiration to boys and girls, and he found it very good. He went to Rwanda [to serve his sentence], he embraced them, and it was very good for them.”
Ben Sulayem recalls Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s comments, confirming that his son repeated what he heard from the drivers: “Even Toto Wolff was surprised that his son, under ten years old, repeated the swear words he had heard from the drivers.”
“This is not what we want at the FIA. If you can control yourself in an F1 car, you can control your words… It’s not too much to ask, and it’s not new—these FIA rules have been written since 1972.”
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Verstappen’s FIA Community Service? ‘Perfectly Fine’ Verstappen’s FIA Community Service? ‘Perfectly Fine’ Verstappen’s FIA Community Service? ‘Perfectly Fine’
