In the wake of a controversial Monaco GP, and an even more controversial post-race interview, Lewis Hamilton has Tweeted his apologies.

It was the culmination of a pretty bad week.

First he accused Michael Schumacher of deliberately blocking him in Barcelona, in an attempt to aid (fellow German) Sebastian Vettel. Then he accused the two Toro Rosso drivers of virtually the same thing.

Then came qualifying in Monaco, where he subsequently blamed his team for a strategy that only saw him complete one run - which he accused Felipe Massa of spoiling - while his rivals enjoyed two. Having qualified seventh he was subsequently demoted to tenth (ninth after Perez' withdrawal) when Race Stewards adjudged him as having jumped the chicane and consequently deleted his time.

In the race he was handed a drive-through penalty for an incident involving Massa, telling his crew over the team radio, that the Brazilian had deliberately turned in on him. Then, having been handed a lifeline courtesy of the red flag and subsequent restart - which saw his team repair his badly damaged rear wing and fit a fresh set of boot - he collided with Pastor Maldonado, again pointing an accusing finger at the other driver.

While it was expected that his post-race interview would be heated and emotional, nothing prepared interviewer Lee McKenzie, the BBC pundits or millions of fans around the world for Hamilton's response - the Englishman, other than describing his rivals as "ridiculous" going on to joke that the reason for his numerous visits to the stewards in recent races might be due to the colour of his skin.

His comment caused an immediate backlash in the mainstream media, the BBC claiming that his "outburst" had overshadowed the race, while readers of various newspaper websites accused the 2008 world champion of playing the race card.

Last night having clearly calmed down after a difficult weekend, Hamilton used Twitter to apologise to his fans and Massa and Maldonado.

"Hey guys. I wanted to apologise 4 last weekends performance & also my comments after, I never meant to offend no1. I would also like to say thank u 2 everyone on here, 4 their positive messages & also 2 the angry messages. I can respect them both."

He subsequently followed up with: "2 Massa & Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended u. Both of u r fantastic drivers who I regard highly. 2 my fans lost & my fans won, I wish u nothing but love & happiness. God Bless u. Onwards & upwards, Montreal next. Lewis"