Verstappen Blames Firman for Missing First Point

Minardi driver Jos Verstappen blamed Briton Ralph Firman for spoiling his chances of finishing in the points at the United States Grand Prix.

Jordan driver Firman crashed into the back of Verstappen's car at the second corner of the first lap of the race. The incident forced both men to come into the pits for repairs on their cars.

Dutchman Verstappen went on to finish in 10th position, but claimed that without the accident he could have scored Minardi's first point of the year.

"I had a bad start to the race, when (Ralph) Firman hit me from behind and punctured my right rear tyre, forcing me to pit at the end of the opening lap for a replacement set," said Verstappen. "It really spoiled our race, because I think we had the strategy and the car to have gained a World Championship point this afternoon.

"The conditions in the race were tricky, and it was difficult to know when the optimum point was to come in and change tyres. Even so, I think we had the strategy about right, and there wasn't much more in the car today, so we did pretty much the maximum we could."