Lewis Hamilton has accused Formula One championship rival Felipe Massa of deliberately colliding with him during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The pair tangled on the second lap of Sunday’s race, and after both drivers incurred pit drive-through penalties for different incidents, Hamilton finished out of the points while Massa finished seventh.
That cut Hamilton’s lead over the Ferrari driver to five points with two races remaining.
The McLaren driver raised the stakes ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix by dropping his initial diplomacy and accusing Massa of foul play.
”I did the corner normally, and he came back very aggressively and hit me,” Hamilton said late on Sunday. ”That was pretty much as deliberate as can be.”
Massa denied Hamilton’s accusation.
”I did not hit him deliberately,” Massa said. ”I can’t believe he sees it that way.”
Massa was eighth across the finish line Sunday but was promoted to seventh by a contentious post-race stewards’ decision to dock initial sixth-place finisher Sebastien Bourdais 25 seconds for a 50th-lap collision between the Toro Rosso driver and Massa. — Sapa-AP