Massa is not amused by Verstappen's Bahrain barbs

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Felipe Massa was distinctly unamused by Max Verstappen's quip about Brazil during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.

The disagreement between the drivers started in qualifying, when Verstappen complained that Massa had ruined his final flying lap.

"He is Brazilian, so there is not much to talk about," Verstappen told the media when asked if he would be having words with Massa about the incident.

That comment didn't sit well with Massa, who sought out Verstappen in the paddock to have words with the teenager.

"I told him 'Be careful with what you say, because you still need to go to Brazil to race there. Be careful what you say,'" Massa told UOL Esporte on Sunday.

"It's wasn't right to talk about Brazilians without knowing what he's talking about," the Williams driver added.

Verstappen blames Massa for poor final Q3 run

The pair have clashed before. Massa called Verstappen "dangerous" when the teen competed in his first Monaco Grand Prix in 2015.

As for the incident in qualifying this weekend, Massa denied having held up the Red Bull. "He didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't do anything that interfered with him.

"He wanted to find a reason for being beaten by his teammate, and he needed someone to blame.

"I told him, 'The same thing happened between Hulkenberg and myself, and did you see anyone complaining?'

"Before you start a lap, you have to be in the best possible position. If you're not able to do that, it's your own fault."

Massa went on to finish the race in sixth place, which he described as being "as good as a victory" for Williams. But it was a different story for Verstappen who crashed out on lap 12 with rear brake failure.

GALLERY: All the action from the Bahrain Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.