Verstappen: 'Idiot' remark not meant to hurt anyone

The Dutchman was furious in the wake of losing his podium finish at Austin after being ruled to have cut the track in a last-lap overtake of Kimi Raikkonen.

He even went as far as suggesting that the situation was not being helped by race steward Connelly regularly punishing him.

“It’s one idiot steward up there which always makes decisions against me,” Verstappen told Sky TV.

Later on, in interviews with Dutch television, he referred to Connelly as a ‘mongol’.

Those comments have caused some controversy, but Verstappen has made it clear that he was fired up by post-race emotions when he made the remarks.

“Look, in the heat of the moment you say things, but of course I didn’t mean anything bad,” Verstappen told Dutch TV show Peptalk on Monday night. 

“At that moment, it just blurts out. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Verstappen has suggested that the time is right for the FIA to consider a new approach to stewarding, with his penalty having caused such a backlash from fans and those involved in the sport.

“I think more people want that [change of system],” he said. “I think it wasn’t correct and it’s ridiculous that you can’t do anything against it.

“We’ll talk about it, but we need to see what’s right. I don’t have a clear answer to that right now.”

Despite the focus on Connelly, and his feelings about the matter, Verstappen has said that he did not see any point sitting down with him to discuss.

“I don’t have anything to explain,” Verstappen said before he left Austin. “You can sit down with each other and talk for hours, but it doesn’t change anything.”