Max Verstappen apologises for US GP post-race rant

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has apologised for his post-race outburst at the United States Grand Prix, where he referred Federation Internationale de l'Automobile steward Garry Connelly as an 'idiot' and 'mongol' for penalising him in the race.

Taking to his Instagram account, the Dutchman issued an apology for his language, saying that his comments came in the heat of the moment and that it was not directed at any individual.

Verstappen's comments came after he had already tried to defend his reaction during a news conference at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez ahead of this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

"Further to what I said in the FIA Press Conference, I would once again like to apologise for the language that I used following the US Grand Prix. My comments were made in the heat of the moment. I know that the words I used were inappropriate and they were not directed at any one person," Sport24 quoted Verstappen as saying.

"I certainly did not mean to cause any offence and I hope we can move on and enjoy this race weekend," he added.

Verstappen was outspoken in his criticism 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 of the track in 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.