Verstappen 'didn't mean to hurt anyone' with jibe

Cape Town - Max Verstappen insists he didn't meant to "hurt anyone" when he labelled FIA steward Garry Connelly as an "idiot" for penalising him at the United States GP.

Verstappen lost third place in Austin when Connelly handed him a five-second penalty for passing Kimi Raikkonen with all four wheels of the track on the final lap of the race. 

Verstappen hit out at him, saying he is "an idiot who always decides against me" while accusing the FIA of "killing the sport." 

The Dutchman has subsequently apologised. 

"Look, in the heat of the moment you say things, but of course I didn't mean anything bad," he told Dutch TV show Peptalk on Monday night. 

"At that moment, it just blurts out. 

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." 

Verstappen, though, still believes it was an unfair call and says F1 needs to change the system.

"I think more people want that," he explained. 

"[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."