Max Verstappen will NOT be punished by the FIA despite blasting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stewards as "stupid idiots".
The Dutchman was given a 10-second time penalty after he was deemed to have been at fault for a collision with Oscar Piastri.
On the opening lap of the race, he tried to dive up the inside of the McLaren but there was contact which sent both cars spinning around.
Stewards are often more lenient with first-corner contact as it is often more difficult to avoid collisions.
However, in this case, they felt a punishment for Verstappen was necessary - not that the Red Bull racer was happy about it.
After he was informed of his penalty over the radio by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen risked further punishment by angrily replying:
"Can we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots!"
Such direct criticism of the stewards can often lead to sanctions. In 2023, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner was investigated and given an official reprimand after he referred to the stewards as "laymen" while calling for the sport to move to professional, full-time referees.
With that example in mind, it was expected that the stewards would take a dim view of being called "idiots" by Verstappen.
However, he was not investigated over that radio comment during the race and the FIA has now confirmed that the Dutchman faces no further consequences.
The four-time F1 champion will, however, this week finally serve another sentence that was handed down to him earlier in the season.
After he swore in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix, he was controversially handed a community service-style punishment.
Verstappen will complete that "work of public interest" in Rwanda this week, ahead of picking up his drivers' championship trophy at the FIA Prize Giving ceremony in the capital Kigali on Friday.
F1's governing body confirmed: "He will undertake some work with junior competitors as part of the grassroots development programme organised by the Rwanda Automobile Club (RAC).
"The activity will involve an FIA Affordable Cross Car which was built locally in Rwanda by the RAC from blueprints provided by the FIA.
Design blueprints for the Level 2 category Affordable Cross Car project have been delivered to the global network of 147 National Sporting Authorities (ASNs)."
Verstappen finished the Abu Dhabi race sixth while Piastri was only able to recover to 10th place.
Despite that disappointment for the Australian, his McLaren team were able to secure a first constructors' title since 1998 as team-mate Lando Norris won the race.
