Max Verstappen admitted it was a “constructive” experience for him to watch on with the stewards during Saturday’s Marrakesh ePrix.
The Dutchman served the first of two public service days ordered by the FIA after his pushing incident with Esteban Ocon post-race in Brazil last year.
Having been very critical of stewards decisions in Formula 1 in recent years, the governing body took the opportunity to give Max an insight into how the stewards operate and the Red Bull driver was pleasantly surprised.
“It’s interesting to see it from the other side. Normally you can’t spend an entire day with the stewards!” he told his official website.
“Everybody does their own job during the weekend, and it’s good to really see what it takes to make these important decisions.
“Sometimes a decision might not be nice for a certain person but it has to be taken and you have to follow the rules,” Verstappen conceded.
“I think it’s good to experience different things in racing rather than just sitting in the car. To be here and do this kind of work has been a constructive thing for me.”
The day also gave Verstappen the chance to sample Formula E up close and the 21-year-old gave the series a strong thumbs up.
“I’ve of course followed Formula E a bit on TV but I’ve never been in the paddock, and I really enjoyed the day,” he commented.
“First of all, it was a really exciting race, the championship is clearly growing and there are a lot of manufacturers here, so I think it’s a cool series.”
There was a little opposition to Verstappen’s presence, however, with DS Virgin’s Sam Bird suggesting the FIA’s decision belittled Formula E.
“I mean, to call coming to Formula E race ‘community service’ I think does Formula E a bit of an injustice,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a punishment to come here.
“I hope he enjoyed it and I hope he will give good feedback to some of his colleagues.”