Max Verstappen plays down his post-US Grand Prix rant

Johannesburg: Red Bull's Max Verstappen has insisted that he didn't mean to hurt anyone when he referred FIA steward Garry Connelly as an 'idiot' and 'mongol' for penalising him at the United States Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was furious as he lost his third place in Austin after Connelly handed him a five-second penalty for passing Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen with all four wheels off the track during the last lap of the race.

Lashing out at Connelly for his move, Verstappen said that the former is an idiot who always decides against him before also accusing the FIA of killing the sport.

Later on, the 20-year-old apologised for his comments, saying that his remarks came in the heat of the moment.

"Look, in the heat of the moment you say things, but, of course, I didn't mean anything bad. At that moment, it just blurts out. I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Sport24 quoted Verstappen as saying.

However, Verstappen continued to maintain his stand on his five-minute penalty, saying it was an unfair call and that Formula One needs to change the system.

"I think more people want that. (The decision) 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," he said.