Bourdais fuming after penalty
by Dave Maher, 12 October 2008
Sebastien Bourdais was critical of both Felipe Massa and the race stewards after he was hit with a damaging penalty following the Japanese Grand Prix.
Toro Rosso driver Bourdais came home in sixth place at Fuji on Sunday but was later demoted to tenth, following an investigation into an incident involving him and Ferrari’s Massa, who was, in turn, promoted to seventh.
The Frenchman was exiting the pits when he and Massa came together in the first corner and was handed a post-race drive-through penalty, but he feels the collision was Massa’s fault.
"I did everything I could not to run into him, and he just squeezed and turned and behaved like I didn't exist, like I wasn't there," Bourdais blasted.
"What am I supposed to do? It's just a little bit of respect. You give each other room and then everything goes right; if you don't, for sure it's going to be an incident."
Four-time Champ Car title winner Bourdais found it difficult to understand Massa’s behaviour, with the Brazilian chasing Lewis Hamilton for the Drivers’ championship.
"Fighting for the championship you just don't take unnecessary risks like this," Bourdais said. "You've got everything to lose and nothing to gain.
"He was going to pit in three laps, I was ahead of him and he was going to finish behind us anyway. Why would you even think about doing something like that? I don't understand.
"It ruins the weekend for me, takes away three points for the team and gives Felipe another point. I am really happy for him, obviously."