Danica Patrick has apologized for recent comments about Brazilian drivers, saying they were taken out of context and she meant to be complimentary. "It was merely a reference that wasn't meant to be hurtful," she said. "It's my mistake that I even put a label on it. I was asked what my driving style was like. I said I've gotten more aggressive as time has gone on. I didn't come into the series very aggressively."
In an interview with the Associated Press last month, Patrick said of her early open-wheel racing days, "I didn't start like a Brazilian driver and go out 'wooo' and hit everything and figure it out later. I started out much more patient with other drivers."
The reference riled Brazilian drivers. Tony Kanaan, who has feuded with Patrick since they were teammates at Andretti Green Racing, replied on Twitter: "She didn't start like a Brazilian because she is not capable of such a thing. Never will be."
"I could have taken it personally, especially if I thought she'd been trying to insult us," Brazil's Helio Castroneves said this week. "But I took it as meaning we're aggressive drivers."When told he was being diplomatic, Castroneves, who last week was fined $30,000 and placed on probation for tweets about IndyCar race steward Brian Barnhart, turned coy. "Hey, I'm on probation," he laughed.