Noida, India: Feuding foes Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa were poles apart at the Indian Grand Prix yesterday despite their magnetic attraction on the racetrack pulling stronger than ever.
Stewards ruled that the Ferrari driver was in the wrong this time, imposing a drive-through penalty for causing their collision, but Massa rejected that and his team produced pictures to support his argument.
"I braked later than him, I was in front ... to be honest I don't understand why I have the penalty. It is really not understandable," the Brazilian told reporters.
McLaren's Hamilton, who is having a nightmare Formula One season and had to pit for a new front wing after the incident, told another set of reporters that Massa "just turned in on me, he didn't give me any space".
Lined up together
Asked whether there was now a full feud between them, Massa replied: "Maybe for him. He touched my car. So I didn't do anything wrong."
The pair, who have clashed six times on the racetrack in 17 grands prix this season, could not even agree on whether they had attempted to mend fences before the race after weeks of simmering silence.
With their cars lined up together on the third row of the grid, they had stood together during a minute's silence for double Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, both killed in recent crashes.
"He [Massa] hasn't spoken to me since a long, long time, so I made an effort and put my arm round him and said good luck for the race," the Briton told the BBC.
Massa, beaten by Hamilton to the 2008 championship by a single point, denied that version.
No intervention
"He was on my side. And then he just said have a good race. This is trying to do what? ‘Have a good race' is not part of talking or whatever," he said dismissively.
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said his team would not intervene although he had discussed the situation with Ferrari.
"They are men, they've got to figure it out for themselves," he told reporters.
"It would be nice if we just get a situation where they are not drawn magnetically together on the circuit and we don't have those incidents.
"It's one of those years where they've been coming together too frequently," he added.
