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The 19-year-old Red Bull driver had accused the Williams
veteran of wrecking his best lap in qualifying at the Bahrain
Grand Prix and was asked by reporters whether he would be
speaking to him.
"Well, he's a Brazilian. So there's not much to discuss,"
Verstappen had replied.
The Dutchman, who won huge admiration for a stellar drive
through the field to third place at a rainswept Interlagos
circuit last year, took to Instagram to clarify remarks that
went down badly in Brazil.
"Being a passionate racer, I was very disappointed with my last
(qualifying) stint and gave an emotional reaction that was taken
out of context," he said.
"By no means did I mean to insult the Brazilian people who I
greatly respect and are always very nice to me when I visit the
country.
"I would like to apologize to any Brazilians that feel offended
and look forward to racing in your country again," he added,
referencing Brazilian world champions Ayrton Senna, Emerson
Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet.
Massa, the only Brazilian driver on the current starting grid,
told UOL Esporte that he had spoken to Verstappen after the race
and warned him to "be careful what you say because you're going
to have to go to Brazil to race there".
Verstappen crashed out of Sunday's race at the Sakhir circuit
after a brake failure.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
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