Barrichello Criticises 'Amateur' Sato

Rubens Barrichello labeled BAR-Honda rival Takuma Sato an "amateur" following a collision between the pair in Sunday European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Ferrari's Barrichello held second place after Sato had been unable to get ahead of him after the second round of pitstops and the BAR driver attempted an ambitious passing move into the first corner.

Sato took a gamble when he attempted to get up the inside of Barrichello and the pair touched and the Ferrari driver was thankful he was able to complete his race and secure a one-two finish behind teammate Michael Schumacher.

Sato came off worse as he lost the front wing of his car and was forced to pit, only for his race to end minutes later when he was struck by an engine failure for the second week running.

"I think I lost a part of my bargeboard and aerodynamically, especially at high speed, the car felt a bit strange," Barrichello said. "So, I was lucky that the race was getting towards the end.

"I am sorry to say it but I think it was a bit too amateur from Sato to do that because he wasn't in a position to actually try and overtake. He came completely sideways and luckily I saw the nose coming and I just took avoiding action and I was lucky that nothing else broke on my car. I just took that avoiding action which I think kept me alive."

Sato had started the race from second on the grid and was looking to score the best result by a Japanese driver by passing Barrichello for second place. Barrichello said had Sato bided his time he could have overtaken him because he had the quicker car.

"He could have eventually overtaken me because he was fast enough but he didn't need to be that lap," Barrichello added. "He wasn't in contention on that lap."