Narain Karthikeyan has hit back at Felipe Massa’s claim that the Indian was at fault for the Ferrari drivers contact with the wall.
Toward the end of the race, Massa came up behind the HRT and had to take to the off racing line in the wet to pass, but upon accelerating, the rear of the car violently snapped away and the Brazilian careered into the wall, before managing to recover to the pits for a replacement front-wing.
Massa says the incident was the end of his podium chances and laid blame on Karthikeyan for driving slowly on the dry racing line.
“My chances of finishing on the podium and also of fighting for the win just evaporated when I was passing Karthikeyan,” he said after the race.
“He was going very slowly on the dry line but then, as I was passing him on the wet, he accelerated and I lost control of the car ending up in the wall. I am angry, there is no point denying it.”
The 34-year-old saw the events differently, adding that excuses are the first signs of a drivers race seat being under threat, as many believe Massa’s to be.
“I didn’t slow down at all. He came really fast behind me. He then changed his racing line, went on the wet part and spun,” he wrote in his ESPN column.
“The blame game starts when your seat is under threat,” he concluded.
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