Santino Ferrucci has apologized for his furious statements to NBC following Saturday morning’s practice session at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
The scathing statements came in response to on-track confrontations with Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta, as well as a heated pit-lane interaction with Kirkwood that included a jab at Herta, whom the A.J. Foyt Racing driver referred to as Kirkwood’s “little boyfriend teammate.” Ferrucci’s shot at Herta enraged the show, which chastised the 26-year-old and “expressed its displeasure” with the Connecticut resident.
“Man, I just apologized for the comments,” Ferrucci told RACER. “I was very out of line and out of pocket, especially during Pride Month.” It’s not what I want to portray about myself, and I’d like to present myself in a more positive manner.” Ferrucci is one of the most confrontational and polarizing drivers in the series, and he isn’t hesitant to go after bigger drivers and teams. However, his battling attitude has a downside: he is frequently ignored or ridiculed by many of his competitors. Ferrucci, Herta, and Kirkwood were not in a good mood before to the morning incident, which he believes contributed to their unduly harsh words and attitude to the Andretti brothers. But he also says their strained relationship was by no means an excuse for his ensuing behavior.
“With all the tensions going on, after all that stuff happened, I just let my emotions get the better of me in that interview,” Ferrucci added.
“And now I just want to really apologize to the [LGBTIQA+] community, and to Colton and to Kyle for that.”
