Verstappen admits Portimão radio rant 'not correct'

Max Verstappen finally owned up to the expletive-laden radio rant delivered in the heat of the moment at Portimão last weekend, the Dutchman admitting that his attitude was "not correct".

Verstappen went ballistic over the radio after clashing with Lance Stroll in Friday's FP2 session. The Racing Point driver had taken his line into Turn 1, apparently oblivious to the Red Bull driver's presence to his right.

After the collision, an angry Verstappen told his team:

"Is this f****** guy blind?" Verstappen said. "What the f*** is wrong with him? Jesus Christ.

"What a retard," he added. "I have damage. What a mongol. I swear."

When queried later in the day on his shocking tirade and asked if it may have offended people, Verstappen brushed the incident aside, saying "not my problem".

Red Bull team boss also played down the episode, insisting that "sometimes if Max is coming up behind Lance or Ocon it can get colourful".

• Read also: Mongol Identity organization issues scathing letter to Verstappen

The foul-mouthed rant also prompted a reaction from charitable body Mongol Identity, whose founder Uuganaa Ramsay who expressed her "disgust and deep concern at the use of the term Mongol and promised to take the issue up with the FIA.

In Friday's FIA press conference at Imola, Verstappen acknowledge that he had chosen "the wrong words" to express his exasperation.

"I mean, first of all, I never intended to offend anyone," Verstappen said.

"You know, that's never what I wanted. It happened in the heat of the moment, when you're driving at such speeds things like that can happen.

"I don't say that the words I chose were the right ones. I mean, I also know that they are not correct. But once again, I never meant to offend anyone with that. And besides that, of course, I was swearing at Lance, but then of course I saw him straight away after, and that's what racing drivers are as well.

"We can be angry at each other, but within five minutes when we talk to each other and look each other in the eyes then, you know, it's forgotten," added the Red Bull charger.

"So, I think sometimes things get a bit heated up from the outside.

"While, I never meant, you know, to hurt anyone in particular. So, yeah, I don't think they need to make it bigger than it is. I also know that it was not correct, but I cannot change it.

"Of course, you learn from it. And, well, we'll do better."

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