Barrichello: Burti Not Blaming Irvine

Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello has said on Tuesday that his compatriot and close friend Luciano Burti was not blaming Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine for his dramatic accident at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Prost driver Burti had to be taken to a hospital in Liege following a heavy crash on lap four of the race, when the Brazilian clipped the rear of Irvine's car after the Ulsterman closed the door at more than 240 km/h.

Former Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert said on Tuesday that Irvine was to blame for the accident, despite the FIA clearing the Jaguar star. According to Barrichello, who visited Burti on Monday after finishing in fifth place for Ferrari at the race on Sunday, the 26-year old thinks Irvine was not at fault.

"Before the restart, I was told that Luciano was angry when they finally got to him in the car, which was very good news as far as I was concerned," Barrichello said. "He was unconscious for a minute, but once he came back, he was saying he wanted to get back in the race. He had no idea of what had just happened to him.

"Luciano told me he only remembers up to a few seconds before the incident and at the time he was simply angry he had another big crash like in Hockenheim. He thinks Irvine was not at fault. Luciano seems fine.

"I stayed with him until two in the morning and went back at eight on Monday morning and then left when his parents arrived."