Championship leader Josef Newgarden feels rookie Santino Ferrucci 'needed to learn a lesson' after their last-lap incident in the Bommarito Automotive 500 at Gateway.
Ferrucci had made a last-lap attempt to pass Tony Kanaan into the final corner and ended up running wide, he saved the car and turned back down the track to prevent Newgarden from passing him.
The move forced the Penske driver across the inside kerb and which then led to a 180-degree spin on the front straight.
Newgarden was able to recover the car and cross the line, but not before losing places to team-mate Simon Pagenaud and Carlin's Conor Daly.
"I'll be disappointed if people think I'm a whiner after giving my assessment," said Newgarden.
"Rarely do I ever try and put someone in their place when I think they need to be put in their place. I think Santino needed to learn a lesson.
"This is no disrespect to fans or anyone. Most people will not understand what he did wrong in that final corner. They've never driven an IndyCar. They don't know the subtleties of it.
"I think what he did was very risky. He needs to learn from that. I told him that. It's really a racer's thing. Hopefully, he gets that. I think when you go to bigger ovals, it's even a bigger potential problem. Yeah, like I said, that's how I felt about it.
Ferrucci, who sits just two points behind Chip Ganassi's Felix Rosenqvist in the battle for the Rookie of the Year title, felt his move was justified and expressed his staunch opinion via social media.
Ok 2 things. First, I told him I was sorry and I was getting out of the marbles so I didn’t hit the wall myself. Second, Last lap last corner! I’m not PULLING OVER to let Josef by! I’m a damn racer, I have a championship I’m competing for too. https://t.co/pp0xA3Ggka
— Santino Ferrucci (@SantinoFerrucci) August 26, 2019
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