Max Verstappen hasn't taken Lewis Hamilton's post-Bahrain Grand Prix comment to heart after being shown a clip of the Briton calling him a "dickhead" in the pre-podium room.
The pair clashed at the start of the race when Verstappen launched an overtake down the inside of Turn 1, but cut across the front of the Mercedes and clipped Hamilton's front-wing, puncturing his own tyre which ultimately forced him to retire.
Appearing on Dutch TV show Peptalk on Ziggo Sport, Verstappen brushed the comment aside, blaming it on the heat of the moment.
"He's just got out of the car, those things can happen," said the Red Bull driver. "If you are just out of the car, you are still full of adrenaline."
Verstappen doesn't believe the move was risky after Hamilton criticised it, calling it "unnecessary" and "silly".
"I was really close and there was a chance to overtake, so I thought it was a good opportunity," he explained.
"Our car was great so I'm not going to just stay behind him. I knew we had a very good car for the race, so I knew we would be able to fight them."
Sebastian Vettel also defended the comment after a Dutch journalist pressed Hamilton the moment during the post-race press conference.
"I don’t think it’s justified to give us these kind of shit questions and making up a story out of nothing, if we are just racing and we are full of adrenalin and sometime we say these things," said the Ferrari man.
